Foundation Formation
by Cielita
Summary: Episode 1 of the new book finally comes to the screen! Part I of the my new book,Rising Generations,the longawaited sequel to Life Has a Rhythm of its Own. Now that the kids are the Teen Titans, new adventure is on the horizon!
1. Midlife Melancholy

Chapter 1: Midlife Melancholy

Raven's white cloak swished around her ankles as she walked evenly into the kitchen on a cloudy Friday morning. Starfire was already at the table, but she looked more than a little distracted. Pouring herself a hot cup of tea, Raven seated herself at the table opposite her friend and idly picked up the newspaper. She took a few seconds to peruse the headlines and then returned the paper to the tabletop, observing once again that Starfire seemed to be a million miles away. The bowl of cereal in front of her had long ago become soggy, and the glass of milk beside it had not been touched.

"Is something wrong, Starfire?" Raven asked. Raven knew well enough that Starfire's emotional mood swings were touchy and that occasionally her balance could be shifted by even something small, but today just seemed…well…different.

"Yes," Starfire finally mumbled, looking up at Raven. "I have become 'boring'. I am no longer a suitable wife for Robin…" Raven resisted the urge to spit out the mouthful of tea she had been sipping.

"Starfire, I've known you for years. The last thing on Earth I would think of you is boring. Why do you say things like that?" Raven asked.

"Robin no longer seems to want to do the 'making love' anymore, and I have seen the way he looks at others…" Starfire began. Raven jumped to Robin's defense.

"Robin would never cheat on you, Star. He loves you too much," Raven said, moving to sit beside Starfire.

"But I have seen his eyes. He even has magazines with other women in them," Starfire replied. Raven shook her head.

"Lots of magazines have female models, Star. That doesn't mean anything," she said.

"But, Raven, these females lack clothing, and I am nothing like them…" Starfire murmured. Tears welled in her eyes but instead of fleeing the kitchen, Starfire sat still, lowering her head and closing her eyes. Raven took a deep breath and slipped an arm around Starfire's shoulders. Raven wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. The thought of Robin with a stack of Playboy magazines made her giggle, but Starfire's misery was almost overwhelming.

"Star," Raven began. "Do you and Robin do the 'making love' the same way each time?" Raven asked gingerly.

"Yes…why do you ask such things? I am doing it wrong? Robin is dissatisfied with me because I have been mistreating him?" Starfire whimpered.

"No!" Raven cried. "No, Star…all I meant was that maybe what Robin needs is a little variety in your love life."

"This…variety…is it difficult to learn?" Starfire asked. Raven smiled.

"No, Star. It's not hard to learn at all…" she replied. "I'll help you. And Star? Those magazines you told me Robin has?"

"What about them?"

"Let him keep them and stop worrying about them. They won't do your marriage any harm if you do what I tell you," Raven said soothingly. Starfire sniffled and nodded.

"Does Beast Boy keep such reading material?" Starfire asked.

"Yes. And believe me, it hasn't hurt anything," Raven replied. Starfire wondered for a moment at Raven's tone of voice, which seemed to be indicating that she and Beast Boy had gotten some sort of positive outcome from reading the magazine. Raven waved off Starfire's look of puzzlement. Before Raven could verbally respond, there was a loud shouting in the hallway.

"MOM!" screamed Olivia. Now age 16, Olivia Arella Logan was no longer a little girl. She had grown tall, though not taller than her brother, and had developed a sort of feisty attitude that occasionally drove her siblings and roommates up the wall. The door to the living area opened and then slammed closed after Olivia as the teen stomped into the room. Raven rose gracefully from her place and folded Olivia into her arms.

"Come on now, baby, it can't be that bad," Raven soothed, smoothing Olivia's long violet hair.

"Tell him to leave me alone! I can't even take a shower in the morning without him supervising me!" Olivia growled.

"Now, Olivia, you grew up with everyone here. By now you should all know well enough what kind of privacy the others need," Raven began. Olivia interrupted her.

"I'm not talking about them! I'm talking about him!" Olivia replied through gritted teeth. Seconds later, Beast Boy came into the room in search of his daughter.

"Honey, I'm really sorry! You didn't lock the door! How was I supposed to know you were--"

Right behind Beast Boy was his older son, and Olivia's twin brother, Toby. Raven took a step back as Toby approached, reaching for his sister's hands. Olivia pulled away and continued to fume, this time directing her anger to her brother. Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire stood by and watched as Toby slowly, carefully, gathered Olivia into his arms and hugged her, skillfully calming her as only a twin truly can. Beast Boy shook his head, Raven sighed, and Starfire softly smiled, glad that the outburst had been contained. Raven quietly marveled at her twin children. Everything that Olivia could dish out in sheer turbulence Toby could sooth with his even-tempered calmness. When Toby became tense and over-stressed, Olivia was often the voice of reason in his head. Raven mused that she couldn't have planned it better herself.

"Everything's just about ready. Are the kids up and around yet?" Robin asked, entering the room.

"Most of them," Beast Boy mumbled.

"We're almost ready, Uncle Robin. Five more minutes," Toby replied.

"What's left to do?" Raven asked.

"Just a few details left. Are you all ready for this?" Robin asked seriously.

"All that remains now is for us to take care of a few things," Robin said when the Titans, East and West and their children had congregated in the living area of the Tower. Minutes later, they were joined by Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. The youngsters blinked in awe-struck respect. All that is, except Jason. Jason Todd Grayson came forward and briefly wrapped his arms around Batman and Wonder Woman in turn. They smiled at him as if at a beloved grandson and then gestured for him to return to the group.

"This is a big day for all of us here," Superman began. "The next several weeks will be a big transition. Today, those heroes that have been hitherto been referred to as the Titans will cease to be Titans. In their place, you will rise as the new Teen Titans. All of you have been trained literally from your births for this moment. Today, your parents will all be inducted into the Justice League, and will be moving to the Watch Tower. You kids will divide into two teams and resume the hero work that your parents began when they were your age. It will be up to you to work hard and make responsible choices. I know you can all handle that."

"I've watched each and every one of you grow up, and I know you are all capable of what needs to be done. Before this is made official, I think there are a couple of parents here who would like to say a few things," Superman said. Robin came forward and a soft gasp rippled through the group. Robin was dressed in a solid black uniform with a large blue bird across the chest. His mask was still in place, but this time, he appeared much more mature.

"Jason, come here, son," Robin said. Jason obeyed and came to stand before his father.

"When I join the Justice League today, I'll be changing my codename. I will become Nightwing. I'm passing the name of Robin down to you," Robin said. Jason wasn't sure what to say.

"Dad…I've never had a codename…" Jason said softly.

"I know. It's high time you had one, and I know you'll do it justice," Robin said before stepping back into line with the other adults.

"Caleb, come over by me, please," Beast Boy said, coming into the front of the group. Eight year old Caleb edged between his siblings to join his father.

"Caleb, I'm giving my codename to you. You inherited my shape-shifting abilities, so it's only appropriate that you become the new Beast Boy. My new codename will be Changeling," Beast Boy said.

When this was accomplished, Batman stepped to the center of the room and asked Olivia, Mas and Menos to join him.

"Leading a team is a daunting task sometimes. It takes hard work, dedication, and communication. Hummingbird, step forward, please," Batman said. Olivia squared her shoulders and stepped out before the others.

"You will be the leader of Titans West. I know Jump City is in excellent hands with you at the helm of this team. Mas and Menos, you will remain in Steel City and lead Titans East until Rumble is old enough to take the position" Batman announced. Toby smiled and patted Aidan on the back as he beamed with pride.

With all things understood, the elder Titans took the remaining bits of their things and followed their new comrades. When the door closed, the young Titans sat stunned. It was over. Titans Tower was theirs.

"Let's celebrate!" cried Emily.

"What do you say, Team Leader?" Caleb teased, ribbing his sister.

"Knock yourselves out," Hummingbird said softly. I'm going to go freshen up a bit. I'll be back in a while."

* * *

Hummingbird emerged from the bathroom 30 minutes later, looking like she had been struck by a semi. She listened for a moment, taking in the sound of the other young Titans reveling in their new-found freedom. With barely a twitch of a smile, Hummingbird retreated to her bedroom. Once there, she sat down on the edge of her bed and flopped backwards onto her back, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. The nervousness that often accompanies new responsibilities fluttered in her stomach and she rolled over onto her side, wrapping her arms around herself. Her new uniform was much like her mother's old one with some modifications. The shape of the bodysuit remained the same, but Hummingbird made the costume dark blue and added red around the neck and wrists. Like Uncle Robin, Hummingbird chose to wear a half cape instead of the heavy cloak that her mother had chosen. The young heroine shuddered a bit and curled up tighter. 

"I don't know if I can do this…" she muttered.

"Ever since you were born," said a voice. "There hasn't been a thing put before you that you couldn't accomplish." Hummingbird looked up to a familiar shadow in the doorway.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Hummingbird said as she sat up. Raven entered the room and sat down on Hummingbird's bed before drawing the girl into her arms.

"Uncle Robin, Uncle Aqualad and I came back one more time to check on all of you," Raven replied.

"I'm scared, mom," Hummingbird said softly. "I'm afraid to mess up."

"Everyone feels like that sometimes. It's perfectly natural for you to feel tense as you take over new responsibilities. Sweetheart, you've always been a leader. You were never content to follow the other kids. Not even Toby, who should have at least been your equal. Ever since you could walk, you've needed to know everything and needed to be in charge. You've finally got your wish, baby. Take it," Raven said, her gentle firmness empowering her daughter. "Come with me, I want you to help me with something."

Raven led Hummingbird to the practice arena and they proceeded inside. The other young Titans were waiting for them, all of them excited and ready to practice their skills.

"Here's your shot. Show yourself what you can do," Raven said. "We'll be watching from the observation room." Raven vanished with this, and reappeared high up in the observation room. Inside, Nightwing didn't bother to look back to see that it was her.

"Do you think she can do it?" he asked.

"There's only one way to find out," Raven replied.

"Isn't this a bit cruel?" Aqualad asked. "You're asking an awful lot of her for her first day."

"The computer is set to create the conditions necessary. The battle will come to a climax and she'll need to make a command decision. She'll exhaust all other resources and then realize that she must send a member of her team into a situation where there is a good chance that they will die," Nightwing explained.

"It's all computer simulated—even the rest of the kids, but most everything that happens will be very real to Olivia. At the time when she needs to make the decision, she won't be able to see us. She'll need to make the decision on her own," Raven added.

Together, the former Titans watched as Hummingbird handled the simulation. As the battle became more difficult, Hummingbird wondered how far the parents were willing to push. Several minutes later, she got her answer. There were two robotic trainers left, but they weren't going down easy. They were huge, and Hummingbird had tried everything to defeat them. It hadn't worked. She looked around her—they were looking pretty rough. She knew she could lose the whole team if she didn't think of something fast.

"Robin!" she shouted. "Go in and use your starbolts! If you get in close enough you can penetrate the metal skin and get the starbolts inside them! It's the only thing that can take them out!"

"Are you crazy?" Robin cried over the din as the others, weakened from the fight, started to drop like flies. She looked up at the observatory, but it was empty. She looked at Robin and repeated her command.

"Jason! Do it now! That's an order!"

Robin did as he was told and charged ahead. Hummingbird hovered in the air and watched as he succeeded in penetrating the covering of the robots and shot his starbolts inside, but that was the last thing she saw before she was hit by the shock wave from the starbolts and was knocked out.

When Hummingbird came to, Nightwing and Aqualad were sitting around her and Raven was holding her.

"You did it, Livie. You beat the simulation…" Nightwing said proudly. Raven held her tight when she stared incredulously at Nightwing.

"Simulation…?" she murmured. "It wasn't real?"

"No, baby, it wasn't real. Everyone's just fine," Raven said, stroking Hummingbird's hair.

"But why…why did you…"

"We had to know if you had what it took to pass one final test: a test to see if you could make a command decision, even if it meant sending someone dear to you to their death. You did it, Olivia. You tried everything but you knew what you had to do in the end. You should be proud of yourself and you should know that all of us are proud of you, too," said Nightwing. Hummingbird hugged them and stood, walking with them back to the living area, where the other Titans were still munching the last of the pizza.

"We saved some for you, Livie," said Robin, pulling a slice from a nearby box. "It's your favorite, that weird-lookin' thing that—" Robin nearly dropped the pizza in his hand as Hummingbird smothered him in a rib-crushing hug. Robin blushed a bit and then smiled, hugging her back.

"Are you okay? Here, have a slice. You've got to be starving. Dad? Are you guys staying too?" Robin asked.

"No, son," said Nightwing with a smile. "We've got to be getting back. We just needed to talk to Hummingbird for a while. We'll all see you guys this weekend for the Autumn Festival here in Jump City, okay?" The kids nodded happily and finally, Hummingbird cracked a smile. With this, Raven opened her arms and transported them back to the Watch Tower.

* * *

"Hey," Changeling said gently as Raven returned to their new quarters. Changeling peeled his sweat-soaked uniform from his rippling form and dropped it on the floor. "That was the best workout and combat practice I've had in years. How'd it go with the kids?" Raven smiled softly. "She passed." Changeling smiled.

"I knew she could do it," he said, pulling Raven close to him and hugging her.

"For a minute, I didn't. I didn't think she had it in her to send Jason to his death," Raven said in reply.

"She's gonna be great—they all will—you'll see," Changeling said, beginning to softly kiss Raven's neck. Raven moaned a bit and accommodated him, unclasping her cloak and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Well, Mrs. Logan, are you ready to help me break in our new bedroom?" Changeling said playfully as he undid Raven's uniform and peeled it down and off, revealing her smooth skin. He knelt and took his time planting slow, passionate kisses on Raven's rock hard abdominal muscles. She whimpered softly and dug her hands into his hair, directing his mouth to where she wanted it. Changeling stopped for just a moment to lift Raven into his arms and carry her with him to their bed before he continued, not stopping until they were both too exhausted to stay awake. Changeling purred as Raven snuggled into his arms and the pair fell asleep, smiling and still planting small, soft kisses on one another's lips until sleep finally claimed their consciousness.


	2. Right From Wrong

Chapter 2: Right from Wrong

_"I said I was sorry!" Beast Boy shouted as Mento pushed him inside the Doom Patrol's headquarters._

_"Sorry doesn't cut it when you're out on a mission, Beast Boy!" Mento shouted back. From his tone, it sounded as if he had given the youngster this lecture several times before. "I told you to leave us behind and destroy that machine and you directly disobeyed me!"_

_"I couldn't have done it! The machine was overloading! It was either it or all of you and-"_

_"Then you should have chosen to destroy the machine! 1 can't remember how many times I've told you that the mission comes first!" Mento screamed. The brave young hero in Beast Boy was beginning to wilt. With his mentor red-faced and screaming so close to his face, Beast Boy lost his resolve and gritted his teeth against the tears that he knew were coming._

_"Steve, that's enough," Elastigirl cried. "None of us would be standing here if Gar hadn't done what he did!"_

_"Cut the kid some slack, Mento. He did what he thought was right. We'll catch Brain, but it just won't be today," Negative Man added._

_"If we keep cutting him slack he'll never learn to follow orders!" Mento yelled, rounding on his friends. "Beast Boy, go to your quarters, I'll be there in a few minutes." As Beast Boy fled the living room, Elastigirl once again appealed to her husband as they entered their bedroom._

_"Steve, please, he saved our lives!" she pleaded. "Don't say something to him that you might regret."_

_"I don't intend to do that much talking," Mento growled. Elastigirl's eyes grew wide as Mento pulled a leather belt out of a dresser drawer._

_"No!" Elastigirl growled back, this time growing large enough to block the doorway. "You'll have to go through me first!"_

_"Rita, unless you want some of this belt yourself, I suggest you move aside," Mento replied, lowering his voice._

_"He's my son, too!" Elastigirl cried. "I adopted him, too!"_

_Mento pushed Elastigirl aside and strode past her, ignoring her pleas for him to stop. He entered Beast Boy's room to find him standing in front of his window, watching the birds dip and soar outside._

_"I won't apologize anymore for what I did. I did something good and all you can see is that the Brain got away. Do what you came to do to me, but I refuse to apologize," Beast Boy said defiantly, looking Mento in the eyes._

_Down the hall, in the living area, Robot Man and Negative man had to hold Elastigirl to keep her from going in and making Mento angrier._

_"It won't help, Rita," Negative Man said gently as Robot Man held the sobbing heroine. "You'd only make him angrier and if he gets angrier, it won't make it any better for the kid."_

_"His name is Garfield!" Elastigirl screamed through her tears as Beast Boy screamed out again from his bedroom. "He has a name!"_

_"We know, Rita," Robot Man soothed. "We know that Gar has a name. We know that he's your son. I don't like this any more than you do, doll."_

_When Mento returned, Negative Man and Robot Man looked up with forlorn-looking eyes as Elastigirl continued to cry. Mento went upstairs to his research lab and Elastigirl finally dried her eyes and ventured to Beast Boy's room._

_"Garfield? Gar, where are you, honey?" Elastigirl called, looking around the room. Curled up in a corner, Elastigirl finally located her adopted son. She fell to her knees and pulled him into her arms, rocking him slowly and holding his head against her chest._

_"It's okay, Gar. I've got you, honey. It's all right. He can't hurt you anymore," Elastigirl murmured, her own tears beginning to fall again. "Mom's got you, honey."

* * *

_

"I've gotcha, honey….wake up…you're safe…"

"Raven?" Changeling murmured, opening his eyes to see his wife sitting up beside him.

"You're dreaming again, Gar," Raven replied.

"What time is it?" Changeling muttered, rolling over to squint at the clock. As he did this, the alarm went off.

"Time to get up," Raven replied with a dry chuckle. "Great timing."

"I'm sorry, baby," Changeling said, crawling across the bed to kiss Raven's lips.

"Don't be," Raven reminded him. "The alarm just went off. It was time to get up anyway."

"No, I mean about the nightmares. You'd think I'd have grown past them by now," Changeling said softly.

"When you're ready to grow past of them, you will," Raven said, stroking his cheek. "Now, go get dressed. We're working out with the kids this morning." With this new event as anticipation, Changeling dressed quickly and joined the others in the transport bay where they would take off from.

"Is everyone here?" asked Nightwing. "I feel like we're short a few."

"Torque and Speedy," chorused a few of the Titans before faltering into hysterics.

"Those two need a new alarm clock," muttered Raven.

"It's not an alarm clock that they need, angel," Changeling replied as Cyborg howled with laughter.

"With all the action them two get, it's a wonder they only have two kids," Jinx giggled.

"Sorry we're late!" called Speedy, striding into the room with Torque.

"Glad you could join us," teased Aqualad as Terra muffled her giggles in his shoulder.

"Your family versus mine, gill-boy. You guys are going down this time," Speedy gloated.

"Right. My family versus yours? We'd literally mop the floor with you," Aqualad laughed.

"Hey, my son can beat up your son," Speedy said jokingly.

"They're waiting," Raven reminded them. The laughter died down quickly and Raven rolled her eyes before transporting all of the Titans to the surface to do their weekly battle along side their children.

After hugs and kisses were duly given out and the families had chatted for a while, it was off to the practice arena. The parents were fairly certain that they had their children exactly where they wanted them several minutes into the battle, but at least once in their lives, every parent underestimates his or her offspring.

"Sitting ducks," grinned Nightwing, giving his staff a turn for good measure as he looked at his teammates.

"They've got nowhere to go—fish in a barrel, right bubble-blower?" Speedy added. Aqualad ignored the name-calling and nodded in determination.

"Do keep in mind that these are our children, we're talking about," Changeling reminded them.

"Sink or swim," Raven said gravely. "Roast 'em." Changeling gulped and fought back a chuckle.

On the other side of the arena, similar sentiments were running through the youngsters beings.

"You take out my dad and I'll take out yours," Hummingbird remarked to Rumble.

"You're forgetting something really important here," Rumble replied.

"What's that?"

"Our moms…"

"Whatever," Catalyst injected. "We can take them too."

Seconds later, the buzzer rang and the battle was on. Unfortunately for the older Titans, their children had not been joking when they said they could take them out. 30 minutes into the battle, most of each team had limped to the sidelines. One of the only parents left was Changeling, and on the other side of the arena was his youngest child, standing over his sister Hummingbird who was unconscious on the floor after Nightwing landed a blow to her gut with his staff.

"Do you yield?" Changeling called.

"Not a chance, Dad!" Beast Boy shouted back. Changeling took a deep breath and morphed into an African Elephant. In this guise, he stood on his hind legs and roared. Beast Boy shut his eyes tight.

"Think big…think big…think big!" he squeaked. Then he remembered what they had been learning about in school that week—DINOSAURS! Caleb Mark Logan opened his eyes and was suddenly towering over the rest of the crowd. He swished his broad tail and sent the green elephant hurling against the wall. Both sides were now screaming and cheering as father and son went head to head. Catalyst ducked back into the battlefield and pulled Hummingbird out of the way. When their father extracted himself from the wall, he had resumed his original shape and stared up at his son. Caleb had transformed into an ankylosausus and Changeling had to duck one more time to avoid his son's heavily armored tail as it whooshed past him again. Beast Boy's heart raced as he reveled in finally getting the upper hand. This feeling unfortunately lasted only seconds more as Changeling stood up, becoming an even bigger T-Rex. Beast Boy matched him and the rest of the Titans, new and old, cringed as the two clashed.

The most powerful thing on both of these massive creatures were their mouths, and it didn't take Changeling long to lunge forward and sink his teeth in. Beast Boy roared and swung, throwing the other T-Rex in a circle and into the wall. Changeling released his grip and then it was Beast Boy's turn to pounce, jumping on top of the other Rex and biting down on him the same way. Changeling roared in pain and then kicked, sending Beast Boy flying across the arena.

"How much longer do we let this go on?" Starfire asked.

"They could kill each other!" Aqualad cried.

"Gar, STOP!" Raven screamed. Catalyst wrapped his hands around his mother's shoulders and yelled, "NOW!" Raven cried out, "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" and erected a telekinetic wall between her husband and son. The two clashed against the barrier for a few seconds, unwilling to let the battle die, but soon the temptation to relent was too much, and both green skinned warriors melted back to their original forms as their teammates came running.

Raven dropped to her knees beside Beast Boy and lifted his head and shoulders into her arms.

"Caleb, talk to me," she demanded. "C'mon, wake up for mamma." Beast Boy forced his eyes open and hugged his mother.

"I did it, momma," he said proudly. "I beat dad!"

"I think we have to teach you kids when to draw the line in a battle," Raven murmured, helping Beast Boy up. Once he was steady on his feet again, Raven moved to her husband, who was just sitting up.

"Raven?"

"I'm here, honey," Raven replied. Changeling moved his hand from his shoulder to reveal a long row of puncture wounds. Raven and several of their teammates gasped.

"Dad!" Hummingbird cried.

"He drew blood…I…I wasn't counting on him drawing blood…I only nipped him," Changeling murmured, fighting to stay conscious.

"Hold on," Raven demanded. She immediately used her powers to heal the wounds, but Changeling had already lost a great deal of blood. He lost consciousness to the spontaneous panic of his wife.

"No!" she cried. "Gar! Wake up!"

The other Titans rushed Changeling to the medical bay, leaving Raven and her children still on the floor of the arena. Hummingbird hugged her mother and both fought to keep tears at bay.

"Mom…I'm sorry…" Beast Boy whispered, backing away. "I'm so sorry!"

"Caleb, wait!" called Catalyst, but young Beast Boy was gone.

"Dad's gonna be okay…" Catalyst finished softly. He looked at his mother and sisters, all three still locked in an embrace on the floor. Sighing softly, he joined them.


	3. Nothing to Fear

**Chapter 3: Nothing to Fear**

"Caleb?" Catalyst called as he walked out onto the roof of Titans Tower. "Are you okay?"

"No!" Beast Boy hyperventilated. "Dad…Dad's gonna die and it's all my fault!"

"Hold up a minute," Catalyst said. "Dad's gonna be fine, he just needs some time to recuperate and time to let his body make new blood. He's okay, Caleb, really." Little Beast Boy's eyes shifted up to his big brother's, but his ears remained drooped to the sides.

"Really?"

"Really-really," Catalyst replied. Beast Boy threw himself into Catalyst's arms and cried, relieved that his fear was unfounded. "Come on," Catalyst said after the two brothers had cried for a while. "Let's go back inside. Mom's been worried about you."

When Catalyst and Beast Boy arrived at the med bay, Raven was waiting.

"Momma…" Beast Boy said. "Momma, I'm so sorry." Raven shook her head and opened her arms.

"Come here, baby," Raven murmured. Beast Boy obeyed and wrapped his arms around his mother's waist. "I'm not angry at you, Caleb. Mistakes are how we all learn to work with our powers. Maybe next time your father will learn to be careful how far he provokes you." Beast Boy looked up at his mother. "So, Dad really is gonna be okay?" he squeaked.

"Yes, he's going to be fine. He was awake for a while just before you got here. He was worried about you," Raven replied.

"Raven," Nightwing said, poking his head out of the med bay, "Gar's awake. He wants to see you and Caleb." When Raven reached her husband's side, Changeling reached for her hand.

"Is everyone okay?" Changeling asked softly. Raven nodded and gently kissed his lips. "Everything's all right," she murmured.

"Caleb," Changeling said, turning his head to find his youngest son looking worriedly over his bed. "You didn't do anything wrong, son."

"Dad, I could have killed you!" Beast Boy said, biting back tears. Changeling chuckled softly. "But you didn't. You stopped yourself when you realized we'd gone too far," Changeling replied. Without arguing further, Beast Boy threw his arms around his father and hugged him.

"I love you, dad," Beast Boy said, his fears subsiding slowly as his father held him.

"I love you too, Caleb," Changeling said. "Everything's gonna be okay now, son."

Meanwhile, Hummingbird stood near the tall windows and stared out at the bay with her arms folded over her chest. Catalyst entered the room and crossed over to her.

"Dad's okay now. Mom used her powers on him again and he's up and walking again," Catalyst reported.

"Good. I was worried for a while there," Hummingbird said. Robin came in soon after.

"It's a good thing Caleb stopped when he did," Robin commented. Catalyst looked at him and nodded in relief.

"I'm gonna go hug mom and dad before they leave with Uncle Nightwing. Later, guys," Catalyst said, leaving the room.

"Caleb shouldn't have fought like that against dad in the first place," Hummingbird said coolly.

"We practice with our parents every Saturday, Livie," Robin said, a bit sharper than he had intended to.

"He was careless!" Hummingbird cried, finally turning around to face him.

"He's only eight years old!" Robin cried in Beast Boy's defense.

"He should have known better!" Hummingbird shouted above him.

"He's your little brother! Cut him some slack!" Robin shouted back.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT RUNNING A TEAM!"

Both young teens suddenly stopped and looked wide-eyed at one another. They had both just uttered the same words at the same time. Hummingbird took a step back as Robin closed his still-open mouth.

Hummingbird felt tears start to sting at the back of her eyes and blur her vision. She took another step back before she turned and ran from the scene, making a break for the door.

"Olivia, wait!" Robin cried, finding his voice and starting after her.

"No!" Hummingbird shouted, giving off a telekinetic energy wave that knocked Robin backwards and into the wall. Hummingbird continued down the hall with her arms wrapped around herself. She kept her head down as she walked and Robin could only sit and watch her go as his head throbbed from the impact.

"Livie!" he called again. Hummingbird ignored him. Still on the floor, Robin hung his head.

"…I'm sorry…" he murmured softly.

* * *

"My shoulder's gonna ache for a week after this," Nightwing grumbled good naturedly in the locker room of the Watch Tower. He and two of his friends were showering after a serious game of three-on-three basketball with Batman, Green Lantern and Flash.

"I don't have to worry about most minor injuries," Changeling bragged proudly. "My Raven can fix just about anything that I can stretch, sprain or fracture." Nightwing smiled as the others chuckled. He admired the relationship that Changeling and Raven had.

"How are you and Starfire doing?" Speedy asked, pulling a clean shirt over his head. "We're split up on missions sometimes and I don't get to talk to anyone really regularly anymore." Nightwing shrugged at the question.

"We're fine, I guess," he replied, smoothing back his now long black hair and shutting off the water.

"I guess?" Changeling echoed questioningly.

"I don't know…sometimes I wonder is she's really happy with me anymore. We talked about maybe having another baby and I think I upset her. I wasn't too keen on the idea," Nightwing replied, avoiding Speedy's eyes.

"How's your sex life?" Changeling asked, toweling off his spiky green hair.

"Why is that the first question that anyone asks?" Nightwing cried, looking around at his teammates.

"It's a reasonable question, Dick," Batman added, reaching into his locker for a clean shirt.

"He wouldn't argue about the question if nothing was wrong," said Speedy to the others.

"We're gonna have to call you something other than Speedy. Your arsenal of shit to say never runs out!" Nightwing chuckled.

"Wait a minute…I like that! Call me Arsenal from now on!" cried Speedy.

"Awesome! In any case, what are we going to do to help Dick with his marriage issues?" Changeling asked.

"Maybe the girls could help us. I'll go talk to Torque right now," Arsenal suggested. "They could teach Star a few new tricks."

"I don't know, guys," Nightwing murmured.

"Why not let them try? You never know," Changeling said. "She could learn enough just from Raven to keep you guys going for…"

"Enough, Gar. Star is sensitive. She could get this inadequacy complex thinking she's not good enough for me and that's the last thing I want. I love my wife," Nightwing argued.

"Nonsense. She won't get any such idea. Let me talk to Torque and she'll arrange the whole thing. Not to worry, buddy. This will work out," said Arsenal.

* * *

That night, in Titans Tower, the two youngest Titans, Beast Boy and Proteus, were tipping unsteadily as they carried the makings of a great movie night into the ops room.

"Whoo-hoo! The first official movie night of the new Teen Titans is officially underway!" Reese crooned. He was carrying an armful of DVD movies and a bucket of popcorn while his partner teetered under the weight of cotton candy, chips, sugar candy, chocolate, and soda.

"You got that right, Proteus my good man!" Beast Boy chirped back.

"What do you guys have planned now?" groaned Rumble.

"Just a little prime-time entertainment, my dear Aidan," Proteus grinned.

"Ok. If you—ever—call me 'dear' again, we're going in the danger room," Rumble idly threatened from behind the newspaper in his hand.

"Where are Robin and Hummingbird?" asked Beast Boy, looking around the room.

"I wouldn't bother Hummingbird just at this particular junction, Caleb," said Catalyst, walking into the room with his nose in a book and his silver rimmed reading glasses on his nose.

"Oh yeah? Why?" asked Rumble, putting down the paper.

"Let's just say that things didn't go down so well between she and the new Boy Wonder," Catalyst hinted, sitting down beside Rumble on the couch.

"I miss my sister…she loves movies…" Proteus murmured as silence settled in the room.

"I know….I miss little Rosie and the babies too. I mean, they're a pain in the keester when their crying or throwing a fit or something, but when it comes down to it, they're our little brothers and sisters and we ultimately love them, don't we?" Catalyst mused.

"You know, I can't get over something that little Coral said the other day. Four years old and she already knows that she's royalty. She tried to order me to go get her something and Auntie Terra had to tell her she couldn't be like that. Who would have known that Auntie Terra would make such a good mom? And with two kids no less! Do you remember what she was like before she met Uncle Aqualad?" Rumble recalled.

"Do you remember what Uncle Aqualad was like without Auntie Terra?" Robin said, jumping into the conversation.

"Where have you been?" Beast Boy asked him.

"Don't ask. Suffice it to say, I don't think Olivia's ever going to forgive me this time," Robin said, running his hand through his spiky red hair. Catalyst put down his book.

"What did you say to her?" he asked.

"We…we both said 'you don't know anything about running a team' at the same time," Robin said, hanging his young head. "Just shoot me. Do something before she gets me herself…."

Beast Boy's ears drooped as he looked at his teammates. Catalyst got up to go talk to Hummingbird and Rumble lost interest as he scooted closer to Robin to pat him on the back. "You Graysons and your trouble with women," Rumble quipped.

"So...I guess the movie is out?" Beast Boy squeaked.


	4. Slipping Away

Chapter 4: Slipping Away

Beast Boy tiptoed down the hall to Hummingbird's bedroom. He held the DVD he was hoping to convince everyone to watch in his hand, as well as a bottle of Hummingbird's favorite soda. Gingerly, he rapped on his sister's door.

"What?" can the terse reply. Beast Boy twitched a bit. She was still angry.

"We're gonna watch a movie in the living room. Wanna join us? I got some of your favorite soda…" Beast Boy tempted her. "It's that funny greenish-yellow stuff that mom said had enough sugar to send one of us to the moon and back…" The door slid open and Beast Boy tiptoed inside. Hummingbird was standing over her desk, examining documents and dossiers spread out over the surface and covering everything but the computer. He cautiously set the soda bottle on the desk and took a few precautionary steps back. Hummingbird set both hands on the desktop and was still for a few seconds. Beast Boy watched as his sister's shoulders started to shudder under what he could only imagine was the strain of what Robin had said.

"Please don't cry, Livie," Beast Boy said, coming forward again. "He didn't mean it that way."

"What do you know?" she grumbled without looking up.

"I know that he's been trying to get you to talk to him all day so that he can say he's sorry," Beast Boy said, his green eyes searching for any sign of response.

"Why would he apologize? He was right," Hummingbird replied.

"No he wasn't," Beast Boy said in her defense. "You're the bravest person I know, Livie!" Hummingbird finally looked up from the desk as one last tear fell from her eyes. She pulled her little brother into her arms as he giggled in protest and then finally wound his arms around her in return. Hummingbird released him and took the bottle of soda. She twisted the lid and smiled at the hiss it made. She took a big gulp and then looked at Beast Boy again.

"Now, how about that movie?" she asked.

"First we gotta get Emily. I haven't seen her all day," Beast Boy said.

"She gets into all of those books that mom left for her and I think she'd forget to breathe if no one reminded her," Hummingbird teased as they walked down the hall. Beast Boy was still giggling a bit when they got to Emily's door.

"Emzie! What do you say to a movie? C'mon, we've all be stressed out today. Let's unwind," Hummingbird called. When no one answered, Hummingbird shrugged. "Oh well, her loss. Let's go."

When the youngsters finished their movie, Hummingbird got on the phone to order pizza and she sent Rumble to get Thetis. "Tell her that I'll personally let Caleb eat her share of the pizza if she doesn't come out this time," Hummingbird called after him.

"Emily!" Rumble called, knocking clearly on the door. When she didn't answer, he knocked again. This time, Rumble was sure something wasn't right.

"Olivia!..." he called, running back down the hall.

Meanwhile, inside Thetis' room, none of her teammates knew that she had made a mistake that only her mother before her had made. Thetis had been staring for over an hour at the darkly stained trunk that her mother had left in her care. Raven had carefully instructed Thetis never to open it because it contained the most dangerous book that Raven owned: the one that contained the malevolent being called Malchior. While her friends watched a movie, Thetis had succumbed to the temptation and opened the trunk, jerking the book from its resting place and quickly sitting back up on the bed. Her heart thudding against her ribs, 14 year old Thetis flipped through the pages, coming to rest on a picture depicting her mother, radiant and peacefully smiling, floating on the air and surrounded by swirling clouds and stars.

"No wonder Dad fell in love with her," Thetis whispered. "She was so beautiful…"

"She was also naïve, just like you!" a gravelly voice growled from the book. Thetis shrieked when a hand emerged from the pages and viciously grasped Thetis around the waist before dragging her into the book's portal with it.

Thetis hit the ground hard and almost lost her breath, but recovered quickly enough to roll out of the way of the large claws of the fast approaching dragon. Thetis did the best she could to try to outrun the beast, but it was no use. With one swing of his tail, Malchior had thrown Thetis across a clearing where she hit her head on a tree, knocking her out. The dragon closed in, taking a deep breath in preparation to char the girl's body to a crisp, but a man with long, flowing white hair and gleaming armor stepped out of the shadows, sword drawn.

"You shall not harm her! Return to your abyss!" the man shouted. After a brief struggle, the dragon yielded and fled. The man turned his attention to the ailing young woman. He knelt beside her and her jewel-bright eyes blinked open.

"Where am I?" she murmured.

"Fear not, the dragon is gone," he replied as Thetis sat up. "Are you injured?"

"No. I think I'm okay," Thetis said softly.

"I feared I'd never see you again," the man said, his icy blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "You look so different, Raven…younger even…you've changed your hair and even your eyes!"

"Raven?" Thetis repeated. "I'm not Raven! That's my mother!" The man stopped abruptly. His expression changed completely.

"Then if you've come into possession of her book…"

Thetis suddenly figured out what he was thinking.

"No!" she exclaimed. "She's fine! She just passed some of her books on to me when I was old enough to use them! I wasn't even supposed to open the trunk and I did it anyway and I'm in so much trouble when I get back….Olivia's gonna kill me! Oh God, then mamma's gonna hear and then I'm really in trouble!"

"Wait!" he said. "Am I to understand that Raven is a mother to more than just you?"

"Yes," Thetis replied. "Olivia is my sister and we have two brothers. Toby is Olivia's twin and then our youngest brother is Caleb…My name is Emily but my codename is Thetis."

The man made a gallant bow before replying "I am Rorek, sorcerer and adventurer. The pleasure is all mine, lovely Thetis. No doubt, you were named for the flawless Goddess with her ability to change into and communicate with various animals. Then Raven has found someone to love her? Truly love her? Good…I feared that she might have to endure that bothersome little green fellow forever…"

"Bothersome little green fellow?"

"Tell me she hasn't gone and actually married him!" Rorek gasped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Thetis demanded. "Daddy loves her more than anything!"

"I meant no offense, Thetis…I simply wish for Raven to be happy. I was forced to watch as that foul beast seduced your beautiful mother and—"

"Seduce her?" Thetis cried.

"Not the way you think!" he recovered. "I simply mean to say that he convinced her that she was in love with him and it made me ill…he used her and I couldn't stand to see her abused in such a way."

"But…" Thetis said gently. "It wasn't long after that, that she started falling in love with my father. He told her that night that he was sorry that Malchior broke her heart. She really is happy with my father. Here, I'll show you." With this, Thetis produced her hand mirror and commanded it to show her mother.

"It must be night time on the Watch Tower," Thetis said with a smile. The image on the mirror showed Changeling and Raven snuggled together in their bed, both of them with peaceful smiles on their faces. On their nightstand were two framed pictures, one was their wedding picture, and the other was a picture of Thetis and her siblings, all smiling and happy. Rorek's eyes welled with hidden tears. He turned his head from the image for a moment and cleared his throat.

"So long as Raven is happy and loved, I will be satisfied. She deserves that. She deserves someone who can love her the way she needs to be loved," Rorek said. The wind gusted and Thetis involuntarily shuddered.

"Come," Rorek said, wrapping an arm around her. "You shall stay with me tonight. I will protect you from the foul beast and his cruel deeds." Thetis nodded and allowed him to escort her. She smiled shyly at this dashing adventurer. She could tell now why her mother had been so fond of him.

* * *

"Oh shit…"

"This isn't good…"

"Where'd she go?"

Hummingbird, Catalyst and Rumble were beside themselves. Hummingbird picked up the book from Thetis' bed and turned pale as she looked up at Catalyst.

"She didn't…Mom told her never…" Catalyst stammered.

"She did. We've gotta wake up mom and dad," Hummingbird said, reaching for her communicator.

"No!" Catalyst cried. "We've gotta take this on ourselves. They would expect that."

"But we don't know anything about this guy Malchior other than what your mom said. We don't even know how she got into the book, let alone how to get her back out," said Rumble.

"We can't just stand here!" Beast Boy whimpered. "What if she's hurt? What if that dragon got her and she's—"

"Don't say that!" Hummingbird growled. "We'll get to Emily. I just to know how yet!"


	5. Safety in Numbers

**Chapter 5: Safety in Numbers**

"I wonder if they've noticed I'm gone yet," Thetis murmured, sitting across from Rorek in his sitting room.

"How could they not?" Rorek replied, looking up from his journal writing at the desk across the room. He turned around and observed the posture of his rescued damsel with sensitive apprehension. He knew that she must be missing her family terribly. Rorek rose from his chair and picked up a blanket from the back of a stuffed chair near the fire. Gently, he draped it over her shoulders.

"Thank you," Thetis murmured, still clutching her mirror in her hands. Right now it showed her brothers and sister, with their teammates, and indeed, they had noticed that she was gone. Beast Boy was crying and Hummingbird was holding him.

"This is all my fault," Thetis whimpered, wrapping the blanket more snuggly around herself and starting to weep again. "They're upset and it's all my fault!" Rorek looked down at the floor of his snug living area. The sturdy stone house he called home was not much, but it was enough for Rorek himself and the occasional guest.

"You regret coming here?" Rorek asked softly.

"Yes," Thetis blurted out. Half a second after it left her mouth she wished she hadn't said it. "I mean, no! Oh, everything's coming out wrong!" Rorek couldn't stand to see her so upset. She had hardly touched the evening meal he had prepared for them, and she had been staring at her little mirror ever since, wishing there was some way for her to contact her friends.

"There, there," Rorek said, gathering her into his arms. There's got to be a way. We'll find it out or they will. Either way, things are going to get better soon, sweet Emily."

* * *

"Husband? Are you present? I seek your companionship!" Starfire called as she entered the large bedroom she shared with Nightwing in the Watch Tower. Hearing nothing, Starfire's pretty smile faded from her face. She had hoped that Nightwing would be home from his most recent mission so that they could spend some time alone, but it seemed that it was not as she had hoped. The light was on in their private bathroom, and Starfire went to shut if off and stopped suddenly when Nightwing stepped out of the bathroom, looked at Starfire and smiled. 

"You are home!" Starfire cooed, throwing herself into his arms. Nightwing grinned at this.

"I made sure I got home before you did. I wanted to surprise you. Come in here," he said, taking her by the hand. Once inside their bathroom, Starfire gasped when Nightwing turned off the lights. A dozen candles threw light all over the bathroom, and their large tub was filled to the brim with bubbles. Two tall champagne glasses stood next to the tub, and Starfire was stunned.

"I couldn't help thinking that I'd upset you the night you and I talked about having a baby. I never did apologize properly. I want tonight," he said, slowly sweeping her hair aside so that he could kiss her neck and carefully start undoing her uniform. "to be your night. I want to do what makes you happy, Kori." Starfire shuddered as Nightwing's warm breath ruffled the hair at the base of her neck.

"Oh my…" Starfire gasped. She nearly lost her balance when Nightwing knelt before her and administered kisses to the smooth, tight flesh of her abdomen. Her golden skin was warm, and the scent of the candles intoxicated them both. Starfire's knees went weak when she felt his hands creep into the waistband of her skirt and steadily lower it, revealing her body to the open air. Once they both were naked, Starfire helped her husband off his knees and led him to the tub. She loved bubble baths and he knew it. Sinking into the softly sparkling foam, Starfire leaned back into Nightwing's arms and rested in his embrace for a while, slowly letting their bodies acclimate to the heat of the water.

"I love you, Koriand'r," Nightwing murmured, nuzzling her and kissing her neck again. Starfire could only smile. "I love you as well. Beloved, I visited with Raven and Torque tonight. They wished to give me advice," she replied.

"What did they have to say?" Nightwing asked, closing his eyes and absorbing the humidity as he listened to the melody of his wife's voice. He enjoyed listening to her babble about her day and he planned to listen for as long as he could tonight: he had made certain that their young daughter, Rosemary, was safely in the care of Jinx and Cyborg that night just for the occasion. Starfire bit her lip delicately. She wasn't sure he was ready for what she had to say.

"She's what?" Arsenal hissed as Torque smiled and nodded her head.

"That's what she told Raven and I," Torque grinned.

"No wonder she's been bent out of shape about having another baby! She's already pregnant!" Arsenal thought out loud.

"And when our genius leader told her he didn't want any more kids…" Raven began.

"Starfire freaked," Changeling finished.

"Exactly," Torque added. Raven looked up at her husband thoughtfully and stroked his cheek. She smiled softly as he obliged her with a soft purr.

"I'm so glad you and I are done having kids…" she murmured.

"So what is she going to do?" asked Arsenal. "Is she telling him tonight?"

"Dick's home?" Raven asked in reply.

"Yeah, their team finished early and was back right after supper. He said he wanted to surprise Kori," Arsenal said.

"This might not be good," Changeling mumbled.

* * *

"Of course this isn't good, Caleb," Hummingbird growled.

"No--this," little Beast Boy said, pointing to the view screen. A red dot blinked on the map of Jump City. Hummingbird rolled her eyes as Catalyst nimbly typed at the keyboard for a few seconds in search of an identification for the alert.

"Obviously these creeps didn't learn anything from our parents," Rumble said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's go."

"Hold on," Catalyst warned. "This isn't anyone we've battled before."

"So? Everyone is someone we haven't battled before—this is our first mission as a team, Toby," Hummingbird replied.

"This is more than one that we've battled before. Only with our parents, but we've been there," Catalyst added. "Mad Mod and Punk Rocket are teaming up."

"Let's go break the British Invasion," Proteus grinned. "Can I get a 'Booyah'?"

"BOOYAH!"

"Teen Titans, Go!" Hummingbird cried, leading her team out the door.

* * *

When the young Titans arrived on the scene, Mad Mod and Punk Rocket were clearing the last of the gold out of the vault at the Jump City Bank…and they weren't alone.

"I said freeze!" screamed a female voice.

"We've got company?" squeaked Beast Boy.

"Shh!" Hummingbird said, hovering protectively near her team.

"What makes a wiry little snot like you think you can match wits with us?" Mad Mod replied, aiming his cane at a pale blue clad heroine. As the Titans charged forward, Punk Rocket soared down in front of them, coming to a stop still mid-air on his flying guitar.

"Come to join the concert have you?" he growled.

"Something doesn't quite ring a bell here, Rocket," Hummingbird said.

"And it's time someone took you down a key or two," Catalyst added. He grabbed his twin sister's hand and cried, "Azarath!"

"Metrion!" Hummingbird added, feeling the added energy her brother provided.

"ZINTHOS!" the twins shouted, launching the bricks of gold at Punk Rocket while the others took on Mad Mod. Rumble ran to one end of the room, took a deep breath and raised his fists high before slamming them against the ground. His powers sent a seismic wave rattling through the floor tiles and sent Mad Mod sprawling. When the villain recovered his cane and glasses, he looked up to a viciously snarling green wolf. Young Beast Boy ducked a swipe of the cane and then lunged. Mad Mod quickly deflected this, sending the wolf flying and looking around to find his partner still fighting off the Logan twins. A whir and beep behind him made his cry out and then anxiously turn around to find Proteus pressing a series of buttons on his gray, mechanical-looking suit, which was studded with steel rivets and bright blue circuitry, much like his father. Seconds later, the youngster was encased in a staggering robotic body, complete with arm cannons, enhanced sensory interfaces, and tracking abilities. Mad Mod tried to run, but Proteus was too quick for him. He picked Mad Mod up with one robot arm, and crushed the cane with the other.

When Beast Boy recovered his senses, his brother and sister had secured Punk Rocket, and Rumble was running toward Proteus.

"You were awesome, Caleb!" Hummingbird gushed, crushing her giggling little brother in a hug.

"Aw, shucks!" He said, blushing. "But hey! What happened to that girl?"

"There she is," said Catalyst. He watched the tall, lithe, brunette pick herself up out of a corner and run in fear. She caught sight of Catalyst running toward her and took off running in fear.

"Wait!" Catalyst yelled. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Toby!" Hummingbird cried after him. She grabbed her communicator and ordered Catalyst to return.

"I have to find out what's wrong!" Catalyst cried. "I'll meet you back at the tower!"

"Toby, at least wait for us!" Rumble begged.

"No! Too many people would just scare her more!" Catalyst argued. He closed the communicator and ignored his team's further attempts to convince him to come home. He followed the girl all the way to a construction site, where she curled up in the shadows in the hopes of evading him.

"Hello?" Catalyst called. "Where are you? I'm not here to hurt you. I just wanted to see if you were okay."

"What do you care?" she muttered. Catalyst turned sharply at the faint sound of the voice.

"I care because you're a hero, like I am. I care because we really weren't very careful and you could have been hurt. Where are you?" Catalyst moved a few boxes, his blue eyes raiding the shadows for any sign of her.

"If you knew what I was….what I was capable of…"

"That doesn't scare me. I want to help you," Catalyst insisted.

"You don't want to know me. You don't want me around…I could…"

"I'm not leaving without you," Catalyst said. There was a pause and then a shuffling as the girl got up off the ground and took a hesitant step toward him.

"Come on," he coaxed. "I don't bite…my kid brother might though…." A laugh like a melody issued from the shadows and a slender young woman appeared slowly beneath the filtered moonlight. She was dressed in a pale blue shirt and torn jeans and tousled brown curls adorned her head. Amongst the chocolate colored locks was a streak of solid silver and it stood out like stardust in the twilight. When she finally looked up at Catalyst, he saw pale gray eyes, and a delicately shaped face. Tears were still falling from her eyes and it took Catalyst several seconds to snap out of whatever dream he seemed to be indulging and gently wipe the tears from her cheeks. She pulled away a bit when he did, but she didn't run away.

"There, are you happy?" she said softly.

"…Yes…" Catalyst said breathlessly.

"What?" she said, not quite sure she heard him right.

"I mean, of course! I mean, look at you! What kind of person wouldn't want to know you?" Catalyst gushed.

"You'd be surprised," the girl muttered.

"Do you have somewhere to go home to?" Catalyst asked a bit more gently. The girl hugged her arms around herself and tucked her chin to her chest.

"If you knew what I'd done…" she said, beginning to cry again.

"Why don't you tell me what happened and I'll be the judge of whether or not I want to know more about you or not?" Catalyst said, slightly exasperated.

"I thought…that if I became a hero it might make up for what I did…I just don't know what I'm doing anymore…my whole life is just a mess…" the girl wept. Catalyst bit his lip for a second before venturing, "Maybe we can help—my team and I. We're the Teen Titans. Maybe you could train with us and…well…at least you'd have somewhere to go…" his voice trailed off to a quiet murmur. "You'd have a home." The girl's eyes were suddenly vicious.

"Why do you care? This isn't your problem! What if your teammates don't like strays that someone just picked up off the street?" she snapped.

"They aren't like that!" Catalyst cried defensively. Before she could respond, the girl fainted and Catalyst reacted just in time to catch her.

"What's wrong?" Catalyst cried when she awoke.

"I…I haven't…eaten…almost a week…" she whispered.

"No wonder you couldn't fight Mad Mod," Catalyst said softly to her. "Your body couldn't even keep you going, let alone fuel your powers…You're coming home with me. No arguments." Catalyst smiled a bit.

"Hey," he said before she dozed off again. "What's your name?"

"Kyler," she murmured. "Call me Silver Nova." Catalyst's smile broadened.

"Well, Silver Nova, you just rest. You're safe now."


	6. Newcomers

**Chapter 6: Newcomers **

"Toby, what happened?" Hummingbird demanded when Catalyst returned carrying the girl from the bank.

"We need to get her up to the med bay. She's exhausted and she hasn't eaten all week," Catalyst explained.

"All week?" repeated Rumble as he followed them upstairs.

"All week…" Catalyst replied, staring into Silver Nova's lifeless face. She looked like she had simply fallen asleep in his arms…

"Toby, come on and put her down," Hummingbird said, forcing Catalyst to focus. An hour later, Silver Nova opened her eyes.

"Where am I?" she murmured.

"Welcome to Titans Tower, Kyler," Catalyst replied gently. She glanced around the room and then back to Catalyst.

"You never did tell me what your name was," she said softly. Catalyst smiled. "I'm Toby. My teammates call me Catalyst."

"Who is the girl...the one with the pretty purple hair?" Silver Nova continued, trying to put names to the blur of faces she remembered only deliriously.

"That's my twin sister, Olivia. We call her Hummingbird," Catalyst answered. He looked up as Rumble walked in the door. He stopped for a moment, whistled and then smiled as he walked across the room to the bed.

"Man, Toby, you sure know how to pick 'em, don't ya?" Rumble commented. Catalyst sighed in mild embarrassment and obligingly introduced him.

"This is—"

"Aidan Harper—call me Rumble," Rumble interrupted, reaching for Silver Nova's hand.

"Hi," Kyler replied, a smile developing on her face.

"Olivia's looking for you," Rumble told Catalyst. He nodded and then turned to Silver Nova as Rumble left the infirmary.

"You'll be okay here. Just get some sleep," Catalyst said, lightly kissing Silver Nova's forehead before making a retreat for the door. Once outside the infirmary, he flattened himself against the wall and took a deep breath that he held for several seconds before blowing it out. When he opened his eyes, his twin sister was standing before him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Just what were you planning to do once she's recovered? We don't know her or what she's capable of, Toby," Hummingbird said.

"Dad and Uncle Nightwing never seemed to have a problem bringing home people that needed help," Catalyst replied, defending himself.

"Reese found this in the Jump City Tribune's archives," said Hummingbird, handing Catalyst a print-out of a newspaper article. It was the story of a local woman who had died because of some sort of radiation exposure that raised the level of metal in her blood.

"What's this got to do with Kyler?" Catalyst asked. Hummingbird pointed to the woman's name and then to the accompanying picture. It was Kyler's mother.

"This still doesn't mean anything," Catalyst said.

"Toby, there was nothing suspicious about the crime scene. No weird experiments, no crazy bad guys…Silver Nova's powers involve manipulating metals. Her body must be giving off some sort of metallic radiation. It's not safe for her to be here," Hummingbird explained.

"Then where IS she safe?" Catalyst shouted. "If no one helps her, then where does that leave her? All alone on the streets to expose hundreds of people or worse…to keep running and either be killed by some enemy of ours or die of starvation! Do you know what that's like, Livie?" Hummingbird lowered her eyes.

"I'm empathic, too, Toby," she replied softly. "and you're right…about dad and Uncle Nightwing." She looked up at him before finishing her decision with "If you can think of some safe way to contain her powers, she can stay." Relieved, Catalyst threw his arms around his sister.

"You won't regret this, Livie. I promise," Catalyst said and with this, he ran to the elevator to begin work in the lab.

* * *

Emily Logan, the heroine known as Thetis, stretched and pushed back the blanket she had been covered with. She looked around the room and still sitting in his chair opposite her was Rorek, fast asleep with his chin against his chest. He snored almost inaudibly, and Thetis smiled. She slowly rose from the sofa and covered the weary hero with the warm blanket. He shifted and muttered a bit before going back to sleep. Thetis borrowed a cloak from the peg on the wall, and wrapped it around her shoulders. Feeling a bit like her mother, she smiled and hugged it around her as she tiptoed out into the yard. Looking around, she carefully took her mirror from her pocket and concentrated on it.

"Show me my brother, Toby," Thetis commanded. There was a swirling effect in the image, and then Toby's form materialized before Thetis' eyes. "Toby, please hear me," she prayed, intensifying her concentration. The clear weather and bright sun increased the clarity of her abilities, and she felt a tingle up her spine. Amid this intense attempt to contact her family, Thetis was suddenly startled by the thunder of approaching footsteps. She screamed as the dragon Malchior bore down on her, sending scalding fire in a stream past her, singeing the edges of her cloak.

"Stay back!" Thetis screeched, slamming her hands together and conjuring enough concentration to summon any creature she could sense within a mile of her location. Out of the forest bounded a pack of giant boarhounds, snarling and snapping like wolves nearly Thetis' height at the shoulder. The wild dogs' long tails swished and their teeth dripped as Thetis gave the order and they bounded toward the menacing dragon. Thetis ran forward with them and then ducked, narrowly avoiding one as the dragon threw him back at her. Thetis ran now for the wounded creature and slid to a stop, kneeling at the hound's side. She shouted a healing spell and the wolf rose and bounded back into the fray to help its friends.

"Emily!" shouted Rorek as he came upon the scene. "Why did you not wake me?"

"All I did was go outside to use my mirror. Help us! I'll keep him at bay so that you can sneak around to the other side!" Thetis cried.

"Got it!" Rorek agreed, unsheathing his sword and making a run for the other side of the battle. Thetis took a deep breath and raised her voice, stretching her hands to the sky and closing her eyes. From her throat issued a sound that Rorek had never heard a person make before. Seconds later, there was a rush of wings and Rorek was nearly hit by the dragon's tail as he watched thousands of black birds descend from the air and attack the dragon, temporarily blinding him and allowing Rorek time to get closer to the target. The dragon thrashed its head as Rorek threw all of his weight forward and thrust the sword deep into the heart of the dragon. Malchior screamed one long, deafening roar and passed out, all of his enormous weight bearing down onto the ground. Rorek tripped as he ran to get out of the way and fell face first to the ground. When the dust cleared, Rorek coughed and slowly eased his aching body into a sitting position. He shook some of the dust and dirt out of his snow-white hair and before locating his sword and standing.

Rorek sheathed his sword as his eyes raided the landscape. The blackbirds decorated the trees and looked anxiously down on the scene as the boarhounds huddled together and licked their wounds. Rorek's calming heartbeat slowly climbed again as he realized something was missing…

* * *

"EMILY!" Catalyst shouted, sitting straight up and knocking over the stool he had been sitting on when he fell asleep at his laboratory workstation. He had suddenly felt the rhythm of his little sister's heartbeat, pounding so hard it could hardly be recognized, and then suddenly it vanished. Catalyst ran his hand through his hair and fought to calm his breathing as Hummingbird and Rumble came running.

"What happened?" cried Rumble.

"I felt your power surge from all the way up stairs! That must have been some dream!" Hummingbird added.

"It wasn't a dream!" Catalyst coughed, still trying to regain control of his senses. Beast Boy and Proteus joined them and Beast Boy brought him a glass of water.

"Thanks, sprout," Catalyst said, ruffling his little brother's hair. Beast Boy giggled for a moment.

"What happened?" Beast Boy asked.

"I felt her. I felt Emily. For a split second her concentration was so powerful that it practically knocked me over," Catalyst recalled. "Where's Jason?"

"Doing patrols. Gimme your hands. We're going to end this once and for all," Hummingbird said. Several seconds passed and then there was a faint tremor.

"The tower is shaking!" Proteus cried. A blinding blue portal opened on the other side of the lab as the twins gritted their teeth in intense collaborative power.

"Holy crap!" shouted Rumble, covering his eyes. Seconds later, the portal collapsed and Hummingbird collapsed to her knees, still clutching Catalyst's hands.

"Olivia!" screeched Beast Boy, running to her.

"Almost…worked….something's in the way," Olivia gasped. "The portal wouldn't go through…"

* * *

Rorek summoned all of his strength and used his magic to roll the body of the now dead dragon. There beneath Malchior, curled up in one of the monster's massive footprints was Thetis. She was unconscious, but to Rorek's relief, she was alive. He clutched her close to him and held her for a moment, then swept her hair out of her fair face and very lightly kissed her cheek.

"I could never have faced myself in the mirror again if I'd lost you today, sweet Emily," he whispered. He noticed just then that something in Thetis' pocket was glowing. "Hello," he murmured. "What's this?"

Rorek took the object out of Emily's cloak pocket and discovered that it was the mirror she had been telling him about. After several seconds of examination, the mirror vibrated violently and then a shaft of blue light burst from it and enveloped them. Rorek vanished in a flash, still clutching Thetis in his arms.

* * *

By the time Hummingbird and Catalyst decided to give it one more try, Robin had returned from his rounds, boasting of a rather clever finale to Mumbo's latest caper. He was glad to hear that Kyler was recovering well, but at the same time, worried that Catalyst and Hummingbird had failed to complete the portal leading through Thetis' mirror.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Robin asked, his spiky red hair drooping from his recent exploits.

"Keep the others over there. We don't need anyone to get hurt if the portal goes through this time," Hummingbird replied. Before they could initiate a new portal, another seemed to rip through the air of the lab, shocking all of the young Titans. Robin knelt to the ground, pulling Proteus and Beast Boy beneath his long purple cape and huddling over them while Rumble crouched behind him. Hummingbird buried her head in Catalyst's shoulder and he in turn shut his eyes tightly against the blinding light. There was an ear-splitting clap of thunder, and then a loud thud before the portal collapsed again and the room returned to normal conditions. When the young Titans felt the courage to look, the Logan kids gasped.

There on the floor was their missing little sister, accompanied by what looked like their mother's storybook hero of so long ago.

"It worked…" Robin whispered, cautiously releasing Proteus and Beast Boy.

"Oh my god…" Hummingbird murmured. "He's real…"

"I thought he was just a character in mom's book," Catalyst added, helping Hummingbird up. All of the kids slowly approached the two unconscious figures and gingerly pulled Thetis out of her companion's grasp.

"Do you think he did this to her?" Hummingbird said, examining Thetis' bruises and burns.

"Or did he save her from whoever did?" Rumble suggested. At this, Thetis' body jerked and gasped, as if she had just been plucked from the depths of the ocean. She coughed back to life and fought instinctively to get free.

"Emily! Emmie, it's us!" Hummingbird cried, still clutching her little sister close.

"Wake up, Emily!" Beast Boy cried. Thetis forced her eyes open when she heard her siblings calling her and started to cry as she threw her arms around Hummingbird's neck.

"How did I get home?" she demanded in a weak voice.

"Maybe we should ask your friend," Robin suggested, gesturing to the figure on the floor that was finally coming to.

"Who…who are you? What are you doing with Emily?" the young man demanded, grimacing from hidden wounds as he spoke.

"We could ask you the same thing," said Catalyst, standing over him.

"Rorek, these are my teammates—my family," Emily said, pulling free of her sister's arms and going to him. "When I got pulled into the book, it was a portal into another dimension and he found me when the dragon was about to finish me off. He saved my life. Please don't hurt him." Thetis pleaded with her family.

"I still can't believe he's real," muttered Catalyst. "Why didn't mom ever tell us?"

"She didn't know," answered Rorek. "I was still hidden away in the book when your blessed mother faced Malchior."

"How are we going to get him home?" Hummingbird said, glancing at her teammates.

"No!" Thetis cried. "You can't make him leave!" Rorek's gaze fell to the floor.

"You needn't defend me, sweet Emily. If your team has no room for another member, I shall find some other way in the world," Rorek replied, only meeting Thetis' eyes briefly before continuing to stare at the floor.

"Livie," Thetis whimpered. "There's nothing left for him in his dimension. Chasing the dragon was his life! Please, please, can he stay?" Hummingbird could feel the tension in the room as her friends watched her appear to mull over this important decision.

"Mom is going to flip when she finds out we've got her favorite story book character on the team!" Hummingbird replied, muffled out by the cheers as her friends congratulated the newest Titan.

That night, Rorek stood on the roof of Titans Tower and stared out at the brilliant lights of Jump City. Thetis peeked out to see him there, and then quietly joined him.

"It's really nice outside tonight, isn't it?" she asked, coming to stand next to him.

"This place is so large…I've really never seen anything like it. How am I to learn all of these new things? Tonight alone, I discovered the 'refrigerator'. Brilliant device! One could keep food cold for weeks!" Rorek gushed. "And this 'computer' that Robin tells me about…so complicated that I fear I shall never come to know all of its uses!" Thetis laughed, her cheeks turning rosy in the cool breeze.

"We'll all help you, don't worry," Thetis replied. "What time is it?"

"According to your time devices, it is 12:02 am," Rorek replied. Thetis' eyes lit up.

"It's tomorrow?" she gasped happily. "Today is my 13th birthday!"

"Well then," said Rorek, with a grand sweep of his hand. "Let me be the first to grant you congratulations on another successful year of life." With this he kissed Thetis' hand and then, still holding her hand he looked up at her and said, "and let me also proclaim you quite possibly the loveliest young woman of my acquaintance." Thetis' heart beat a little harder and she gulped as Rorek stood up and lifted her chin with his fingers. Lightly, he kissed Thetis' lips.

"Happy, happy birthday, sweet Emily," he whispered. "And many more hereafter."

Together, hand in hand, the two heroes stood and gazed out at the city, anticipating to themselves all of the grand adventures that lay ahead.


	7. The Longest Night

Chapter 7: The Longest Night

With Emily's return and subsequent birthday party almost a week behind them, things had returned--for the most part—to a normal routine at Titan's Tower. The days rolled from combat training, missions and classes to evenings out, meals together and occasional visits from their parents. One Thursday morning found Robin on the phone when Hummingbird trudged into the kitchen.

"When did this happen?" Robin cried. "It's been how long? When were you planning on telling me? I'm sorry, dad, I'm just…I know you didn't call to make me angry…yes, I know that it's Rosemary's eighth birthday this week. Really? You think she's ready? Of course! Yeah! I'll talk to you and mother later. I love you too…bye."

"What's happening?" Hummingbird asked as she retrieved a bowl and other apparatus for breakfast. The others were slowly filtering into the room as Robin replaced the handset.

"That was my dad…you're not gonna believe this, Livie…my mom's having another baby!" Robin replied, his eyes starting to shine the more he thought about this impending new sibling.

"That's awesome!" Hummingbird replied, suddenly more awake. She went crossed to where Robin stood and hugged him.

"That's not all, either. There's another surprise on its way, too," Robin added.

* * *

"Happy birthday, pumpkin," Nightwing murmured as he woke his young daughter that day. She opened her blue eyes and Nightwing grinned. Rosemary Grayson was her father's mirror image etched into her mother's feminine features.

"Thank you, daddy," she whispered as she yawned and stretched. She sat up and wrapped her arms around Nightwing's neck and hugged him. He reminded her that breakfast was soon and then left the room to allow her to change. When Rosemary arrived in the dining room, she situated herself in a chair between her father and her grandfather, Batman.

"G'morning, Grampa," Rosemary said, climbing into the chair and lightly kissing Bruce Wayne's waiting cheek. It was Rosemary's custom to give him this kiss every morning and Wonder Woman often teased him, saying that he looked forward to Rosemary's kiss more than he did hers.

Bruce grinned as Rosemary ate her cereal. He looked over her at Nightwing, who grinned shyly back at him. Starfire sat down at the table and now was as good a time as ever to tell her.

"Your grandpa and I have been talking about your birthday, Rosie," Nightwing said. "We've got a surprise for you, but you have to tell us if it's something you really want."

"A surprise?" Rosemary squeaked. "What is it, daddy?" Nightwing covered Starfire's hand with one of his and then looked back at Rosemary.

"Your mom and I have decided that since you're eight years old now, you're old enough to decide whether you think you're ready to be a Titan or not," he said. He watched Rosemary put down her spoon and carefully contemplate this.

"You would be near your brother and the others. Jason would take good care of you and you would be able to fight the crime with the rest of the Titans," Starfire added. Nightwing could feel that she was over-talking the situation in her nervousness. Nightwing squeezed her hand reassuringly. Rosemary looked up from her cereal bowl with a very concerned look on her face.

"What if I need you? Or mother? Or grandpa?" with each addition to this list, Rosemary's voice rose in panic. This time, Bruce jumped in, putting his hand on his granddaughter's shoulder.

"Olivia and Jason know exactly how to get a hold of all of us, including all of your aunties and uncles in the event of an emergency," Bruce said. Rosemary seemed to relax when he said this. Now she smiled and heartily agreed to the proposition. Just as she said that she would love to go and live with the others, the door to the dining room opened again and admitted a red-haired young man in a handsome purple uniform. Rosemary leapt from her chair and hovered as she squealed in joyful shock, "Jason!" and bolted through the air, across the room and into her big brother's waiting arms. Robin had not even managed to locate his family before his little sister launched herself into his chest and knocked him to the ground. He laughed as Rosemary babbled over and over that she had missed him.

Robin sat up with some difficulty and took in the sight of his young sister. She had grown considerably since he had seen her. Her new uniform, a gift from their parents, was much like their mother's: a simple tank top and skirt. Robin also grinned as he noted that his sister's uniform covered her midriff, a modification he was certain their father was responsible for.

"Are you done with breakfast?" Robin asked. "I want to go in the practice arena here. I've never been in it before." Rosemary jumped up and escorted her brother to their destination. Once they were there. Rosemary watched in awe as her brother put on an impressive display of his abilities. One of the drones nearly had him, but he managed to evade it and finish the simulation. When he finished, there was general applause from the small group that had accumulated. Among them was his father.

"Nice work out there, son," he said, patting Robin on the back as he caught his breath. "You've been practicing."

"Every day," Robin replied proudly. "Has Rosie been working out here?"

"The kids have their own program here, but she doesn't use it as often as she could," Nightwing said. Robin asked why and Nightwing gestured to Rosemary, who hid her hands instinctively in shame. Robin smiled gently and took her hand from behind her. It was burned, just like his had been when his powers first developed.

"This happened to me, too," Robin said, reaching into his pocket. "Reese and Toby made me a pair of gloves that protect my hands from the starbolts. Here. These are for you. Happy birthday, sis." Robin held up a new pair of gloves that matched his almost exactly except that hers were white with a pink stripe that bore the word "Rosefire" in pretty white letters.

"Rosefire?" Rosemary repeated.

"Yeah. That's your new codename. That's what the rest of the team will call you when we're kicking bad guy butt together," Robin said as he slipped the gloves over her hands and showed her how to secure them. "There. Now you won't get burned." Rosemary smiled and threw her arms around her brother. He hugged her back for a moment and then knelt down in front of her.

"When can I come live with you, Jason?" she asked. Robin smiled.

"Tomorrow. I need to go home and do my patrols, but I'll be back for you bright and early tomorrow morning, okay?" Robin replied. Rosemary nodded and made a run from the room to start packing. Starfire came forward and kissed her son's cheek.

"You were truly marvelous, my son," she cooed, hugging him.

"Your mother and I have something for you, too, Jason," Nightwing added. From behind his back, Nightwing produced a deep purple cloak with armored clasps.

"Oh wow…" Jason stammered. "It…it matches my uniform!"

"It does indeed. We wanted our son to look like the Prince that he is," Starfire explained. "Especially when he is presented at court on Tamaran."

"Court? Tamaran? When am I going to Tamaran?" Robin asked.

"We're thinking of taking you and your sister to meet your subjects," grinned Nightwing. "We wouldn't be gone more than a week."

"Who's going to cover my patrol routes? What about the team?" Robin babbled.

"Don't worry about them. Titans East will be coming to visit and there will be plenty of extra hands to help make sure everything's covered. If anything, Livie's going to have her hands full. She's not used to Mas and Menos…" Nightwing chuckled.

"I guess I don't feel so bad then. When did you say we're leaving?" Robin said.

"In two weeks," Nightwing said. "We'll work out more specific times later. C'mon, let's go sit down for a while. Your grandparents want to see you, too, and it feels like we haven't seen you in forever." Robin smiled, and followed his parents out of the practice arena.

* * *

By the time Robin returned to Titans Tower, it was evening, and the Tower was quiet. He walked into the Ops Room to find the television still running and a single Titan on the couch in front of it. Robin took a glass of juice into the living area with him and walked around the side of the couch. Fast asleep in front of what appeared to be a rerun of an antique show was Hummingbird. She slumped in her seat as she rested her head on the back of the sofa, forcing her chin into her chest. Robin chuckled softly and sat down gingerly beside her. Hummingbird awakened and yawned as she stretched a few of her cramped muscles.

"When did you get home?" she murmured.

"About five minutes ago," he replied softly.

"How was the Watch Tower?" she asked, her eyes still drowsily half open. Robin smiled.

"You'd think my folks hadn't seen me in years they way they coddle me; especially my mom," he said shyly. Deep down, he really loved his mother's doting attentions. Hummingbird giggled.

"It's not funny," Robin replied, still grinning and now staring at his shoes in an attempt to hide the blush spreading up his face. "How would you like it if your mother ruffled your hair in front of other respectable super heroes?" Hummingbird laughed a little harder.

"What are you watching?" she said, suddenly looking at the TV screen. She flipped the channel to a show about animals and then returned her attention to Robin. He placed his empty juice glass on the coffee table in front of them and then relaxed back against the cushions again, stretching his arms out along the back. After a few minutes of the show, Robin, too, was slumping in his seat. When a new source of warmth presented itself, Robin instinctively wrapped his right arm around it without opening his eyes to see that he was tucking an equally sleepy Hummingbird beneath his arm.

At one point, Robin awoke and sleepily fumbled for the remote. The show they were watching was long over and now all that remained was the white noise left when programming is over for the night. He looked at the sleeping girl in his arms and smiled. Lightly, he brushed Hummingbird's hair out of her face, more aware than ever how soft her skin was, and how her hair was smooth like lavender silk. The gentle point of her ears peeked out from beneath this and it took all his restraint to keep from tracing the contours of her features with his fingertips.

Robin swallowed and then whispered so softly that no one else in the world could hear, "I've been so blind…Until tonight I thought you were just my best friend. I feel like I've really looked at you for the first time in my life…." Robin rested his head against hers and closed his revelation with, "You're so beautiful, Olivia…"

They were awakened hours later by what sounded like one of their teammates suffering from a terrifying nightmare. Without stopping to consider their circumstances, they ran from the living area to Catalyst's room. Hummingbird banged on the door when they arrived, and then bolted inside when the door slid open.

"Toby!" she shouted. "Wake up! You're dreaming!" Hummingbird shook her twin's bare shoulders and he cried out as he tore himself from his dream state. He gasped for breath as Hummingbird sat down on the edge of the bed, and the others filtered inside, each one concerned about their friend. Beast Boy came forward and stood near his oldest siblings but before he could speak, Catalyst found his voice.

"Call mom and dad…something's wrong…Now, Livie…find mom and dad…" he stammered.

"I have bad dreams sometimes, too," Beast Boy said soothingly. "Here, this makes me feel better when I want mom and dad…" with this, he offered his big brother a stuffed action figure of their mother. Catalyst ran his hand through his hair and Hummingbird gently took the doll from him with a smile.

"Thanks, buddy," she said. "Toby, what's going on?"

"I'm telling you, something's wrong. I keep dreaming that something's wrong!" Catalyst cried.

"Take it easy," Hummingbird said, squeezing his shoulder. "I'm sure everything's all right. Emily, do you have your mirror?" When Thetis produced her mirror, the kids watched in eager anticipation as the image materialized on the surface.

"See—I told you everything's fine. Look, dad fell asleep in mom's arms again. You know how much mom likes that," Hummingbird said. "Go back to sleep everyone. False alarm," She handed Thetis back her mirror and then remained as the others went back to bed.

"Are you going to be okay?" Hummingbird asked her twin.

"I know Emily's mirror says that they're okay, but I can't help feeling like we're not getting the whole picture here," Catalyst replied.

"That mirror is never wrong. We'll call them in the morning and make double sure," Hummingbird said, standing as Catalyst sank back into his bed. "Everything's fine."

* * *

Three Hours Before:

"Hmmm…do it again," Raven moaned, a satisfied smile gracing her pretty face. She rolled over onto her husband's chest, observing his smile too as he replied, "Anything your heart desires." Raven straddled his thighs and bent down over him, running her hands through his hair as she kissed his mouth. He clutched her to him and returned this kiss, his heart beat now escalating again. Changeling pulled his wife down against him and rolled her beneath him. Out of instinct, Raven readjusted her position so that he could once again bury himself inside her. She gasped and cried out as he found that rhythm that she liked so much—not to fast but just slow enough where she felt every nerve ending firing when he moved. She clutched the sheets and moaned again, making Changeling even more excited. He panted as he pushed harder, knowing that if she moaned like that again, his end would come before hers and that wouldn't be acceptable. He wouldn't be able to sleep if he left her unsatisfied. Raven cried out and wound her arms around him, digging her nails into his back and pushing her hips against him, desperately wanting more of the friction his motion was creating. Suddenly she felt it—it was coming. Raven whimpered again and her breath doubled as she plummeted over the edge and very nearly screamed as her body climaxed, all of her muscles clenched as Changeling himself quivered and came inside her, collapsing onto her chest as he tried to catch his breath.

Both of them still sweating, Raven clutched Changeling to her and smiled as he nuzzled against her and wound his arms around her torso. As Raven's heart beat slowly returned to normal, Changeling suddenly rolled over onto his back and started to cough.

"What's wrong?" she asked weakly.

"I don't know," Changeling replied. "My heart is still racing."

"Are you okay?" Raven asked, rolling over to face him. She reached over to touch him and he jerked away, now clutching his chest.

"I can't breath! Oh, God, Raven, help me! My arm is starting to hurt!" Changeling gasped. Raven shouted into their intercom that they needed emergency medical assistance and then returned to her husband's side. She grabbed onto his hand and refused to let go when he tried to pull away.

"Don't you leave me," Raven murmured, kissing his face and speaking near his ear. "Do you hear? Don't you leave me…" Seconds later, Changeling lost consciousness and Raven panicked. At that moment, the emergency team arrived and used the emergency transporter to remove Changeling to the infirmary. By now, most of the other heroes in their part of the crew quarters wing were awakened by the noise.

"Raven, what happened?" asked Nightwing, emerging from his and Starfire's bedroom.

"I don't know…" Raven said, hugging her bare shoulders. Her nightgown was thin and the corridor was chilly. Torque and Arsenal were now coming out from their room to see what was wrong. Nightwing was about to take Raven in his arms to keep her warm when there was a small tug on Raven's nightgown.

"Here, Auntie Raven," said a little voice. Raven and Nightwing smiled as the little girl before them handed Raven her robe. The six year old was bundled from head to foot in her own warm red robe and fuzzy matching slippers. From the glint in her blue eyes and the reddish tint in her hair, there was no doubt as to whose daughter she was.

"Thanks, Erin," Raven said. Erin Lian Harper had been born shortly after Aries' one year anniversary with the Titans. She was tall and fair, and in every way her father's little girl. She had picked up a bow and arrows and began practicing with her father before most of her friends on the Watch Tower were old enough to read a book. Torque often remarked that her little girl was a fighter from the word go. Erin had kicked harder in the womb than her brother Aidan before her, and had kicked and screamed her way through her first two years of life as she had often been sick as an infant. Once Erin could walk, there was nothing stopping her, and she could only grow stronger. Arsenal could not have been prouder. Now she returned across the hall to them, where Arsenal picked her up and held her.

"I…I don't know what to do…" Raven said, losing the battle to keep her tears from falling from her eyes. "Should I be there? Should I go back to bed and wait until morning? I know I'm not going to be able to sleep…"

"Get dressed. I'll come and sit with you," said Cyborg, joining the conversation. "I was down at the infirmary already. Gar's had a heart attack."

"Oh, Azar…" Raven gasped, collapsing to her knees. Nightwing caught her as she started to sob.

"Come on, Raven. I'll help you get dressed," said Torque. Jinx joined them and helped her get Raven onto her feet again and get her back inside the room. Minutes later, they came back out and Cyborg escorted Raven down the corridor to the elevators. Starfire had joined the group now, gently clutching Nightwing's shoulder.

"Is Raven going to be all right?" she asked softly.

"That will depend on the next few hours. If Gar pulls through then I'm sure everything will be fine. If not…this is going to be a long night," Nightwing replied, reaching over to kiss Starfire's forehead.

While they waited outside the infirmary, Cyborg tried to convince Raven to call her children and inform them of what had happened.

"It won't do any good to worry them right now. We don't know what will happen. If he takes a turn for the worse, I'll call the kids, but for now, let them sleep. They don't need to worry yet," Raven insisted. Cyborg nodded and held her in his massive hands.

"Oh, Vic, what am I going to do if he dies?" Raven murmured.

"We'll worry about that if it comes to it, Rae," Cyborg said softly. Two hours later, a doctor emerged from the ward and told them that Changeling had been stabilized and that he was asking for Raven. Raven and Cyborg went to the bed that Changeling had been placed in and Raven took her husband's hand in both of hers.

"Hey, good lookin'," Changeling muttered with a weak grin. Raven started to cry again.

"You scared me," Raven whispered.

"They tell me I'm going to be okay, baby girl," he replied. "Don't you worry about me."

"I won't be able to sleep with you here like this," Raven murmured. Her tears plopped softly onto the sheets below her. Changeling smiled. "Then come here," he said, gently patting the empty space beside him. She levitated up onto the bed and Changeling snuggled against her, holding her hand tightly as she slowly stopped shaking and drifted off to sleep.

"Thank you, Cyborg," Changeling whispered as he closed his eyes. "Thank you for looking out for her."

"You can thank the others too, when you get out of here," Cyborg smiled, patting Changeling's shoulder before he left the infirmary. "Sleep well, guys."


	8. Recovery Time

**Chapter 8: Recovery Time**

Even with the help of Raven's healing powers, Changeling's recovery was going to take some time. Superman entered the infirmary just as Changeling was finishing lunch.

"Hey, boss. How's it going?" Changeling chatted. Superman chuckled.

"It's nice to see you're on the mend. We're missing that T-Rex form of yours," Superman replied. "I came to tell you that I talked to Batman and Wonder Woman and we wondered if you'd like to spend some time planet-side while you recover."

"Where would I go?" Changeling asked, adjusting his posture. Superman took a step forward to push a pillow in behind him and then replied, "Call your kids. I'm sure they'd love to have you at Titans Tower."

"Did Raven call them yet?" Changeling asked. "Vic said she promised she would."

"We sent her out on mission right after breakfast. I don't think she did it," Superman replied. Changeling took a deep breath and blew it out slowly as he reached over to the nightstand to get the phone. Superman smiled and patted Changeling's shoulder before leaving the room. The connection picked up on the third ring.

"Titans Tower, this is Beast Boy!" a voice answered merrily. Changeling couldn't help a smile—Caleb really did sound like him at that age.

"Hey, sport, how's it going?" Changeling said, grinning wider when Beast Boy gasped.

"Hi dad! You should have been here last night! Toby had a really bad dream and he kept saying that there was something wrong with you and mom. I told him it was okay and offered him one of my stuffies but we used Emily's mirror instead and we saw you and mom cuddled up asleep and we knew you were okay so Livie told Toby to go back to sleep and we all went back to bed. Now you're calling! Livie and Emily were right, weren't they, dad? You're okay!" Beast Boy babbled.

"Yeah, big guy, dad's okay. Where's Livie? I need to talk to her," Changeling replied. Beast Boy's ears drooped a bit.

"You sound tired…are you okay, dad?" Beast Boy said more softly. He started winding the phone cord around his finger with concern.

"I told you I'm okay, buddy. I may be coming to visit for a while, okay? I need to tell Olivia so that she knows that I'm coming," Changeling said. He listened as several more voices came into the room on the other end and little Beast Boy cried, "Livie! Come quick! Dad's on the phone and he says he might be coming to visit us!"

Changeling could feel the apprehension in his oldest daughter's voice when she took the phone from Beast Boy and responded, "Daddy?"

"I'm all right, sweetie," Changeling tried to say.

"Toby's dream…he was right…something's wrong. What happened, daddy?" Hummingbird demanded.

"I don't want you kids to go panicking here," Changeling said. "I want to make sure you understand this—I'm all right. Your mother has been using her healing powers to help me and everything…I had a heart attack last night, Livie."

Changeling wiped his free hand down his face as he heard Hummingbird gasp and drop the phone as she started to cry. Catalyst and Thetis must have been right behind her, because Catalyst grabbed the phone before it hit the ground and Thetis could be heard in the background, comforting Hummingbird.

"Dad, what's going on?" Catalyst said in confusion.

"Your dream was right, son. I had a heart attack last night and that's what you must have felt. Superman just told me that I need to take some time off to recover. He suggested that I come back to the Tower to be with you kids for a while," Changeling said. "If I transport down this afternoon, can you guys be ready?"

"Sure thing, dad, we'll set up one of the guest rooms for you," Catalyst said. Now Robin could be heard in the background as he coaxed Hummingbird to stand up and take a deep breath. Changeling took a deep breath as Catalyst asked one more question.

"How's mom handling this?"

* * *

Intuitive Catalyst had no idea how right he really was. The Justice League had decided that the best way to help Raven get over her traumatic experience was to keep her too busy to think about it. When she arrived back at the Watch Tower and finished the debriefing she teleported into the infirmary only to discover that Changeling's bed was empty.

"No…" she whispered. "No…"

"Raven?" said a voice. Raven turned and Torque was standing there. "What's wrong?"

"Where's Gar?" she mumbled, still not able to take her eyes off the empty bed.

"Didn't Superman tell you? He suggested that Gar take some time off and stay at Titans Tower for a few weeks," Torque said, resting a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"He—he's okay?" Raven said, swallowing a sob.

"He's fine, Raven. Everything's okay," Torque said. Raven succumbed to tears and buried her face in Torque's shoulder as she cried. Torque stood for several minutes holding Raven, assuring her that everything was okay.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye," Raven sobbed.

That night, another emergency mission took Raven out into the field. There would be no time for Raven to mourn the loss of opportunity.

Several uneventful days went by at Titans Tower. Rosemary had settled into her new room, and Changeling was doing his best to be patient with his doting children. He knew that they meant well, but they were trying far too hard to make him comfortable. He didn't want any special attention. He simply wanted to spend some quiet time, get better, and go back to full time duty—both as a hero and as a husband. This time without Raven beside him was almost as painful as the heart attack had been.

About a week after Changeling began his leave at the Tower there was a knock at the door.

"I got it!" yelled Rumble, thudding down the stairs and opening the door. On the other side, slowly soaking in the light early morning rain was Raven.

"Auntie Raven?" Rumble said, standing aside and closing the door after Raven had entered the tower. By the time she was inside, the rest of the young Titans were emerging into the entry hall.

"Mom?" Thetis said, coming forward to hug her mother.

"What are you doing here?" asked Hummingbird. As she hugged Raven, she noticed what her teammates had not yet seen. Hummingbird lifted the edge of her mother's cloak and revealed the sling that covered Raven's arm. "Mom, what happened?"

"A stupid mistake," Raven said, gritting her teeth. She recalled the story of a mission where Raven had gotten into a hand-to-hand situation with a foot-soldier and had lost. The minion had gotten the upper hand and dislocated Raven's right shoulder. If one of their teammates had not been there to cover her, she might not have lived through the battle at all.

"It's not like you to not concentrate during a battle, mom," Catalyst said.

"Batman and Wonder Woman decided that since I can't seem to focus since your father's heart attack, that it would do me just as much good to be here as it should be doing him," Raven replied, sinking into a chair.

"Raven?" said a familiar voice at the top of the stairs. Changeling hurried down the staircase and Raven met him at the bottom, throwing herself into his arms.

"Baby, what happened?" Changeling cried when he spied the sling.

"I messed up," Raven muttered. "I haven't been able to concentrate on anything since you left the Watch Tower. I didn't even get to say goodbye before you left." Changeling brushed the tears from Raven's face with his hands and smoothed her hair, the void in his daily life filling little by little with even this little bit of contact.

"I missed you so much," Raven murmured.

"My angel," Changeling replied, taking Raven carefully in his arms and kissing her. When their lips touched, both spontaneously leaned into the kiss, venting the longing each had been suffering without the other.

"Eww…"

"Yikes!"

"Eep!"

"Um, dad? Why don't you take mom upstairs and help her get settled? She's probably tired from the trip," Catalyst laughed as Beast Boy peeked out from beneath Catalyst's cape. Changeling smiled and guided Raven up the stairs with him, the two still talking in hushed tones as they went along.

"That's so romantic," crooned Thetis.

"That's so gross! They're our parents!" squeaked Beast Boy.

"For the moment, I'm just glad that they're together again," Hummingbird said. "The transmission I got from the Justice League was pretty clear. Mom could have died out there."

"Then it's a good thing that they have us," Catalyst said. "They raised us, now it's our turn to show gratitude and take care of them."

"They're by no means helpless, Toby," Jason said, starting the procession back up the stairs.

"I never said that they were. I'm saying that it's common sense for us to be as good to mom and dad as we can while they're recovering," Catalyst explained.

"I'm glad Auntie Raven is here," said Rosemary, folding her long arms over her chest. "Uncle Changeling was being a grumpy-pants. Maybe he'll be good now." The other Titans laughed.

"Let's hope so, sis," said Robin with a grin as he patted her on the back. "Let's hope so."


	9. Unforgettable

_**Chapter 9: Unforgettable **_

"_Unforgettable, that's what you are_

_Unforgettable, though near or far_

_Like a song of love that clings to me_

_How the thought of you does things to me_

_Never before has someone been more"_

Aqualad could feel the smile on his wife's face as they swayed back and forth around their room. The music playing in the background made Terra smile.

"I don't think you and I have danced in ages…" Aqualad said, grinning at his princess. Her long blonde hair was twisted and piled up on her head and she was wearing the new uniform he had bought for her, a dark green, long sleeved jacket and khaki cargo shorts that matched them.

"I see you haven't lost your touch, either," Terra giggled as he bent low and made her hair brush the floor. "When I said we should practice before we went to Tamaran, I didn't know you took me seriously."

"It was really nice of Starfire to invite the rest of the team, not to mention all the kids. I hope that Titans East can hold down Jump City while the rest of us are off world," Aqualad said.

"I've been thinking," Terra said gently. "I wonder if you'd like to change your codename. You aren't really a 'lad' anymore, and a new name might make your image a bit more mature."

"You don't like my codename?" he said, looking a bit hurt.

"I love your codename, but I just want you to feel as grown up as you look," Terra teased, running her fingertips up his chest and over his shoulders.

"All right, dear, you win. I'll think of something, but I'm not telling you until we get to Tamaran," Aqualad replied.

"Deal. Now, I'll have to go and make sure that we all have something presentable to wear…I'll bet the kids have outgrown their formal clothes since the last thing we attended," Terra said, stopping the radio and heading for the door. She could hear her children playing in the observation lounge down the hall with the other children, Faith Stone, now 7 years old, and Erin Harper.

"Cerdian! Coral! Come here, please!" Terra called as she entered the room. Cerdian, Terra and Aqualad's 6 year old son, was the spitting image of his father: tall, tanned and violet-eyed. Coral on the other hand was so radically different from her parents, that neither was certain where her traits had come from. When four year old Coral poked her head up out of the doll area that she and Erin were playing in, her violet eyes welled with tears.

"Mamma, we're not done yet!" she wept, still kneeling near a doll cradle. Terra crossed the room and squatted down near her little girl, gently stroking her violently purple hair.

"How much longer do you need, sweetheart?" Terra asked. Coral wouldn't look at her, but just shrugged.

"I only need you to come with me for a few minutes and then you can come back and play with Erin," Terra added. Coral seemed to ponder this heavily.

"I'll leave your dolly just the way you have it and you can come back to it, okay, Coral?" Erin prompted. Coral reluctantly got up and went with her mother. Terra smiled and took Coral's hand, then thanked Erin before she took both children and left.

A week later, the night before the trip to Tamaran, a strange noise woke little Erin from her sleep. She slipped out of her nightie and into her uniform, taking her bow and suction cup arrows from the foot of her bed before tiptoeing out of the room. She walked softly as she made her way to her parents' bedroom. Standing outside the door, Erin heard her mother crying out. Pulling an arrow from her quiver, she notched it and pulled the bowstring tight in anticipation. Then she heard it…the sound of flesh meeting flesh—hard. Erin slowly released the tension on her arrow as she listened. It happened again—the sound—this time it was unmistakable. Erin retreated to her bedroom and grabbed a communicator.

"Aidan!" she cried. "Aidan, are you awake?" Her big brother's sleepy face materialized on the screen.

"Erin…it's 1:30 in the morning…if you had a bad dream, why don't you wake up mom or dad?" Rumble mumbled groggily.

"I can't! It has to do with Momma and Daddy…he's…he's…" Erin couldn't seem to manage the words.

"He's what, Erin? They're probably just playing a game, sis," Aidan said a little more clearly.

"No, I know what that sounds like…this is something else…" Erin replied.

"Well, if you're not going to tell me, I'm going back to sleep. Livie schedules combat practice at the crack of dawn," Rumble said.

"Fine," Erin pouted. "I'll deal with this myself." She slapped the communicator closed and sat on her bed in nervous agitation. Minutes later, Erin's eyelids drooped and she succumbed to bed again, momentarily forgetting the secret she now held. What bothered her was that she never thought her father was capable of such a terrible thing.

The transport ship was prepared the next morning and the Titans packed it with their luggage for their voyage to Tamaran. They settled into their seats easily and the short trip to earth to get the older kids was relatively quiet. There was a series of soft clicks as the parents undid their seatbelts when they got to earth. They didn't intend to leave the ship, but like all good parents, they wanted to be ready get up and greet their children, as well as help them get settled on the large ship. The littlest Titans were already onboard and just as anxious for the arrival of their siblings.

"It's going to be nice to have everyone back together again," said Torque, holding a still drowsy Erin in her arms. "I've missed Raven."

"Yeah, and it's been tough to play three-on-three without Changeling," said Nightwing. "I hope he's feeling up to getting his green butt handed to him when we get home." The team laughed for a while and then all looked over when a familiar face peeked onto the ship.

"Permission to come aboard, uncle Nightwing?" Hummingbird called happily.

"There's our girl!" Nightwing said, coming forward to hug Hummingbird and then Robin, who was directly behind her.

"Daddy!" squealed Rosefire, nearly knocking Nightwing backwards into a chair. He laughed as he embraced her and then sent her with the others to find a seat. Behind them was Toby and then Emily. After them came their parents, Changeling and Raven, looking well rested and good as new.

"Dick!" Raven said, smiling as Nightwing held a hand out to help her into the ship. He pulled her near and they lightly kissed each other's cheek.

"We missed you," Nightwing said sincerely. "Both of you." He shook Changeling's hand and then finished greeting the other young Titans. Jinx took Proteus's bag for him and then hugged him.

"Hi, mom," he said with a grin.

"Look at you…you've gotten taller…you're taller than me!" Jinx cried.

"Reese!" squeaked Faith, squeezing past the others to get to him and hug him. "Did you bring me a present?" Proteus grinned.

"Now, Faith, let your brother sit down," Cyborg chuckled, patting his son on the back.

"As a matter of fact, I did bring something for you," Proteus said, rummaging in his pocket. He withdrew a smallish box which Faith eagerly opened.

"It's a new Lego set. Mom's always telling me how much you like Lego's," Proteus said as Faith's pigtails twitched in happiness. "Thank you!" she cooed, hugging him again.

"Gar, I've got something for you two," Nightwing said, making his way past the happy families and over to Changeling and Raven.

"What are these?" Raven asked, taking one of the envelopes from him.

"Your medical clearances. You're both back on for active duty," Nightwing said. Changeling and Raven shared a relieved hug and a kiss.

"This is great, thanks!" Raven said to Nightwing. 

"Don't mention it," Nightwing said, returning to his seat with Starfire.

Caleb Logan lugged his heavy backpack onto the ship warily. He looked back at his remaining teammates and his pointed ears drooped. He very much wished that Rorek and Silver Nova were coming with them, but he understood why they couldn't. He was grateful that Titans East was going to be coming to help them take care of Jump City. He looked down the long main aisle of the ship in slight intimidation. He couldn't seem to find his family anywhere. He looked up suddenly as he felt someone behind him.

"There's my baby," said a familiar voice.

"Momma!" Beast Boy said, hugging Raven. She guided him back to where the rest of the family was sitting and then smiled contentedly when he snuggled into her lap and wrapped her cloak around himself. Catalyst looked around and then got up from his chair.

"I forgot something," he said, putting down his mp3 player and moving for the door. Hummingbird didn't have a chance to ask him what it was. He was already back out of the ship. Rorek and Silver Nova stood near the launch pad, watching as the families inside prepared for their journey. Bumblebee was there with Mammoth, Mas and Menos now, and they were a bit nervous to be without their regular teammates. Silver Nova looked up from her folded arms to see Catalyst coming back out of the ship.

"What's wrong, Toby? Did you forget something?" she called. He ran back to them and without warning, took Silver Nova's face in his hands and kissed her lips.

"Yeah…that. I'll miss you, Kyler," Catalyst whispered. Without another word, he turned and went back to the ship. From their seats, Raven and Changeling watched with the rest of the team as Toby inadvertently declared his love interest to the entire team.

"Did you see what I saw?" Changeling asked his wife.

"Yes. It's about time," Raven said softly. "I was wondering how long it would take him to do that."

When Catalyst came back on board the ship, there was a pause and then the company exploded into applause and whistles. Catalyst resumed his seat beside Hummingbird still grinning and blushing like mad.

"What-was-that?" Hummingbird exclaimed.

"I've wanted to do that ever since I first set eyes on her," he said, fastening his seatbelt.

The flight to Tamaran was mostly quiet. The adults chatted or rested in their seats while the kids played with things they brought or cuddled with their parents. Hummingbird and Catalyst played cards, Robin softly picked at his guitar and Rumble nodded in his chair as he listened to his mp3 player. Proteus helped his sister put together the Lego set he brought for her and Rosefire leaned against Nightwing's shoulder as she sat in his lap.

"Daddy, what will Tamaran be like?" Rosefire asked.

"It will be like nothing you have ever seen before," Nightwing said with a smile.

"Will they like me?" she asked. Nightwing chuckled.

"I would say so, yes," Nightwing said.

"Why?"

"You are not just a guest, Rosemary," Nightwing said, kissing the top of her head. "You are _Princess_ Rosemary Luand'r, the Crown Princess of Tamaran." Rosemary gasped softly.

"I can't believe I'm a real princess," Rosefire said. "Do I get to wear a pretty long dress and a crown, daddy?"

"I'm sure your mother has all of that taken care of. She and your grandparents have been planning this event for sometime," Nightwing said, closing his eyes for a moment.

Little Erin Harper did something on this trip that thoroughly baffled her parents: she avoided her father. She crawled out of Torque's lap to go play monopoly with the other kids and Torque rested a hand on Arsenal's arm.

"Honey, did you and Erin have a fight?" she asked gently. Arsenal shook his head, the frown on his face evidence of just how much Erin's treatment hurt him.

"I don't know what's gotten into her," Arsenal mumbled.

"I'm sure it's just a phase or something. I'll talk to her when we get to Tamaran and I'll find out what's bothering her," Torque said comfortingly.

"I just can't stand it. She's been like a little extension of me ever since she was…born," Arsenal said, sighing with concern. "I can't believe that she'd be outgrowing me already."

"I don't think that's it," Torque said, turning in her seat to look at the kids. "There's something she's not telling us. I'll figure it out. Not to worry, dear."

After a few hours, Cyborg glanced out the windows and then smiled. He nudged Jinx awake and then said out loud, "Look y'all, Tamaran rising!"


	10. TwentyThree Titans on Tamaran

Chapter 10: Twenty-Three Titans on Tamaran

The Titans' arrival on Tamaran was relatively quiet. Emperor Galfore, Starfire's regent, had wanted the families to be able to get settled and prepare for the grand procession and subsequent feast in peace. Galfore himself met them at the landing place and warmly greeted his 'little bungorf'.

"I see that my Empress has little bungorfs of her own now," Galfore chuckled, glancing down at Robin and Rosefire. Rosefire cowered behind her brother and Galfore made a deep bow before them.

"Greetings, young ones. Your mother has told me much about you," Galfore said.

"You already know who we are?" Robin said in surprise.

"Of course I do, Prince Jason. It would be difficult indeed not to infer that you are the strapping son of my Princess and her husband. Thus I could also say that this little one here, is young Princess Rosemary, is it not?" Galfore said, attempting to peek around the edge of Robin's cape.

"Don't be afraid, honey, come out and say hello," Nightwing said, urging his daughter to come forward. She obeyed, dragging her feet and with her eyes cast down to the floor. Galfore placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face to meet his.

"Welcome home, Princess Rosemary," Galfore said gently. He took Rosefire's hand and lightly kissed it. "Come now, all of you, there is just enough time for you to rest a bit and have a change of clothes before the procession."

"Where are my parents? And my brother? I have missed them terribly in the years I have been away," Starfire asked as they were escorted through the palace.

"Pressing matters of state, I'm told, took your parents off world early this morning to inspect the mines on the third moon. They assured me that they would return in time for the ceremony," Galfore replied, gesturing to each family as the group arrived at the suite designated for each of them. Each suite contained a master bedroom, two smaller bedrooms, a common area, a balcony, and rich furnishings that none of them would have expected.

Three hours later, the families arrived at the doors to the great hall, arranging themselves so that Starfire and Nightwing came last with their family and directly before them came Aqualad and Terra with their little ones. The other three fathers played rock-paper-scissors for the remaining positions and minutes later, Cyborg and Jinx took the front of the line, blinking as the doors opened on the brightly lit great hall. Jinx stood up straighter and placed her hand on top of Cyborg's hand. The crowd assembled inside rose to their feet as the imperial march began. Cyborg couldn't help a grin as he faced forward and led his family down the aisle. He was thrilled that Starfire had instructed her people to stand not just for her and her family, but for all of their off-world guests.

Arsenal softly kissed Torque's lips and glanced back at his children proudly before he led them all down the aisle next. Several steps into their procession, he gently squeezed Torque's hand. He knew that she wasn't used to being the center of attention. She smiled gratefully as they maintained their gaze on the seats of honor that they were walking toward. As nervous as their parents were, Rumble and his little sister were only too excited to be there. Nothing in the world could wipe the eager smiles from their faces.

As Cyborg and Jinx reached their places and turned to face the crowd and Arsenal and Torque continued toward them there, Changeling prepared to lead his own family down the aisle. As the kids lined themselves up, Changeling took Raven's left hand in both of his and reverently kissed it, eliciting a tender smile from his bride of nearly 17 years. She lightly stroked his face and then gestured for them to begin as he tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. With this, Changeling led his family, the largest of any on the team, down the aisle behind Arsenal and Torque.

Terra gently adjusted Aqualad's tie and kissed him as they waited for Changeling and Raven to lead their family a good distance so that they could follow. Cerdian giggled and Coral smiled and covered her eyes. The king and queen of Atlantis laughed as they turned to face the front and begin their trek down the aisle. Cerdian took his little sister's hand and the two winked in conspiratorial mischief as they followed their parents down the aisle.

Bringing up the rear, Starfire and Nightwing had never been so proud to have all of their friends with them there this night. Robin's stubborn hair had refused to lie smoothly, so it pointed in several directions, much like his father's had been at his age. Starfire tried hard to keep from fussing over her children's wardrobes, but she desperately wanted everything to be perfect tonight. Finally satisfied, she turned to face the front and straightened her posture before she placed her left hand over Nightwing's outstretched right, and the music swelled as they approached the throne, their friends all awaiting their company there. The doors to the great hall had been closed after they entered the hall and Starfire turned to look at her people with all of the approval a proud Empress could muster. The music ended and Starfire prepared to address her people, but before she could, the doors opened again, and the music began again.

"What's going on?" Nightwing asked his wife.

"It is my parents, I am certain! They have returned from the third moon just in time!" Starfire cooed softly. Everyone in the room most certainly expected their celebrated Emperor and Empress and rose to their feet accordingly. There was a reverent silence for a moment before a shadowed figure glided into the room, dressed in solid black and just as gloriously arrayed as the rest of the royal family. The crowd gasped in shock and Starfire tightly gripped her husband's hand. By the time this clearly uninvited newcomer reached the throne, the Titans were speechless, but Starfire wasn't.

"Sister!" she cried. "What are you doing here? I banished you from Tamaran years ago!"

"Now, is that any way to treat family?" Blackfire gushed, dramatically throwing her arms around Starfire. Starfire roughly pushed her back and once again demanded, "What are you doing here? Where is the rest of our family?"

"Didn't Galfore tell you? They went to inspect the renovations to the mining facilities on the third moon," Blackfire replied matter-of-factly. "What he didn't know--and quite frankly neither did our parents—was that I had no intention of letting them return!" The shocked crowd gasped and cried out in fear. Had Blackfire truly vanquished their beloved rulers? Starfire felt her knees starting to buckle. Nightwing took hold of her and eased her down to her seat and kept a secure hold on her hand.

"Grandpa and Grandma…?" murmured Rosefire, tears of anger gathering in her blue eyes.

"What have you done?" Robin growled.

"I did precisely half of what I should have done years ago. The other half your mother did for me. She brought you all here with her! With no one to legally challenge me, the throne of Tamaran will be mine forever! All that remains now is for me to finish the job!" Blackfire cried, laughing maniacally.

"Yo, Blackfire!" Cyborg shouted, his sonic cannon humming to a full charge. "Aren't you forgetting somethin'?" Blackfire slowly looked around. At every angle of a complete 180 degree turn, Blackfire was met with the angry visages of all 23 Titans young and old. It dawned on her moments later that their people were also a threat to her right now.

"I'll be back to settle this later, little sister. The throne will be mine!" Blackfire cried. With this, she vanished in a flash of blinding light. Galfore was suddenly on his feet.

"Take the guests back to their quarters! Double the palace guards! Fortify the planetary defenses! General Hesperos!" Galfore bellowed.

"Sir!" the general replied, running toward them. He was tall and strong-looking, with dark green eyes and copper colored hair. He even had a dusting of freckles over his nose.

"Put together a team immediately and go to the third moon. Do not come back without our King and Queen," Galfore ordered.

"Absolutely, milord. Nothing would make me happier," Hesperos replied, bowing briefly. He smiled gently at Starfire and made a point of bowing before her specifically before he turned and left the hall.

"What's up with that?" Raven asked with a smile.

"Hesperos and I share a birthday. For many of our growing years, he was my intended husband. When I was sold into slavery to the Gordanians, I thought I would never see him again. I am glad he was made a general. There is no one I would trust more with our military command," Starfire replied.

"Come," Galfore said more gently. "Let us get all of you to your rooms. We must get you all to safety."

"Mamma, I'm hungry," said Coral, snuggling against Terra's skirt.

"I know, pumpkin," Terra said, picking her up and kissing her cheek.

"I will have your meals brought to the rooms for you. I'm afraid the feast will have to wait," Galfore replied.

Back in their rooms, Starfire sank into a chair, still shaking and began to sob. Silkie inched up to her and nudged her as Nightwing knelt beside the chair still holding her hands, but she ignored her beloved little pet. Rosefire picked Silkie up and stroked him as tears ran down her face.

"What happened, mother?" Rosefire asked.

"How did she get back here? How did she break through the planetary defense system? Grandfather and Grandmother...she...I can't believe it...Uncle Ryand'r too...it just doesn't seem possible!" Robin stammered. He paced back and forth before the tall glass doors leading to the balcony.

"Calm down, son. We won't know anything until we do a little investigating." Nightwing replied, looking up from Starfire's shaking body. "I didn't even get to see them again...I didn't get to say goodbye...our parents...our brother...Oh, Richard!" Starfire wept.

"All right, everything's going to be all right. We're going to get this all sorted out but I need you to calm down," Nightwing said, taking Starfire's face in his hands.

"I cannot stop shaking," Starfire said.

"Koriand'r," Nightwing said, his voice becoming firmer. "Listen to me. You need to take a deep breath and calm yourself. This isn't good for our baby. You're a wonderful mother, Kori, and I know you wouldn't ever do something that would harm our children. Please, try to relax—for me and for the baby."

"I am sorry, husband," Starfire murmured. "I shall be well now…perhaps I simply need to lie down."

"Sounds like a plan," Nightwing said gently, kissing the top of her head and helping her out of the chair. Rosefire crept into her brother's lap and he hugged her, knowing that this was going to be one of the longest nights their family had ever had to endure.

Changeling walked to the window that Hummingbird was staring out.

"What are you thinking about, Livie honey?" Changeling asked.

"I'm thinking about Jason and his family. They just lost three people all at once...by the hand of someone within their family...How can anyone be so cruel? How could she kill her own family?" Hummingbird replied, losing the fight to keep a tear from slipping quietly down her cheek. Changeling stepped closer and put his arms around her.

"I don't know, sweetheart...I just don't know." Changeling replied, kissing the top of his daughter's head. Across the room, Catalyst and Thetis were meditating with Raven. Upon hearing his sister and father talking, he opened his eyes.

"This is just stupid. We're just sitting here and we could be searching for Blackfire or investigating how she got here," Catalyst grumbled. Raven opened her eyes and rested a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"Can't we do it tomorrow? I'm really scared, Toby...and...yawn...I'm really tired..." Toby's look softened and he gently ruffled Beast Boy's hair as he stood and stretched.

"M'kay, boys in one room girls in the other. Come on, bean sprout, let's get some shut eye," Catalyst said. Little Beast Boy hugged his parents and then followed Catalyst. A few minutes later, Thetis did the same.

"Livie? Aren't you going to bed?" Raven asked gently.

"In a little bit. You and daddy go ahead. I know you guys haven't been able to hook up for a while," Hummingbird teased. The Logans blushed but smiled all the same. After they retreated to their bedroom, Hummingbird pushed open the doors leading to their balcony. The cool breeze rippled her long hair and she took a deep breath as she closed her eyes against the moonlight. Looking over to the next balcony, she noticed that she wasn't the only one losing sleep tonight.

Arsenal walked out of the bathroom in their suite and looked at his family. Tossing the towel in a basket, he sat down beside Torque on their bed. Torque was holding a sleeping Erin in one arm and stroking Rumble's head with the other, as he had fallen asleep next to his mother.

"What are you thinking about?" Arsenal asked her.

"Lots of things. I was afraid for the kids--but they are old enough to defend themselves now. I feel sorry for Kori and her family--but there's nothing I can do." Torque replied, lightly kissing the top of Erin's head. Arsenal smiled a bit and kissed his wife.

"Sure there is. You can lay down here with me and the kids and rest. Start fresh in the morning when everything has calmed down." Arsenal answered, lightly brushing his thumb over her cheek. Torque nodded and nuzzled Arsenal a bit, kissed him again, and then slid carefully down beneath the covers.

Aqualad spread a blanket over his sleeping family. The two little ones had curled up tightly beside Terra and slept hard. The flush of exhaustion on their little cheeks was still dissipating and Coral's thumb was still loosely in her mouth. Aqualad crept beneath the blanket and kissed the top of Cerdian's head, waking Terra.

"Are you okay?" Terra murmured.

"I will be. It was pretty unnerving to see Kori and Dick get all worked up like that in front of all of their people," Aqualad replied.

"I hope they'll be okay..." Terra replied softly. "Hey...you promised me something when we got to Tamaran, mister." Aqualad smiled.

"I did. What do you think of the name Tempest?" he said.

"Honey, I love it. It's perfect..." she replied. They leaned over the kids and lightly kissed before Terra shut off the light and the family fell asleep together.

"Vic?"

Cyborg turned away from the work he was doing. He had been tinkering with the circuitry in his sonic cannon arm for at least two hours. For the past 30 minutes, his gaze had drifted off into space and Jinx looked up from her drawing pad when she noticed. Taking off her reading glasses, Jinx crept off the bed and came to stand next to him at the desk.

"Sorry, baby. I didn't mean to ignore you," Cyborg replied softly.

"You are one distracted guy," Jinx murmured. Is there something I can do?" Cyborg replaced the circuits, flexed and rotated his wrist and flexed all of his fingers before smiling at her and drawing her closer to him. Nudging her a little with his nose, he kissed Jinx soundly on the mouth. His circuitry tingled as she crept into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Maybe there is something you can do for me," Cyborg teased, carrying his wife to their bed. She giggled in reply.

"Oh, Vic!"

"I love you, Veronica."

"Mmmm….Show me," Jinx whispered. For half a second, Cyborg lost his breath as he carefully inched his wife's nightgown over her head and discarded it over the side of the bed. It wouldn't be long before Jinx was clutching the soft sheets of the bed and trying hard to keep from moaning so loudly that she would wake her children. When her climax came, Jinx nearly tore the blanket in her reaction to her husband's skills as a lover. The second moon was peeking over the Tamaranian horizon line when they finally fell asleep.

Jason Todd Grayson, the Crown Prince of Tamaran, couldn't sleep. He had picked at his dinner and fled to the balcony when his family retired for the night. He was perched on the edge of the balcony railing, sitting cross-legged and staring out at the seemingly peaceful Tamaranian night. The night was clear, and billions of stars poked their light into the black blanket of the darkness. Sitting up a little straighter, he opened his mouth and spoke.

"Come out, Olivia. I know you're there," Robin said. Hummingbird stepped from the shadows and joined him on the railing.

"You're still awake, too?" Hummingbird said. Robin chuckled.

"My mother didn't get to sleep very easily. Dad's worried that the stress will hurt the baby," Robin said. "What's your excuse?"

"My parents haven't had 'cuddle time' for two months. Even if I could sleep I'd be imagining it," she replied. Robin laughed for the first time all day. Hummingbird couldn't help smiling with him.

"Hey, you try to keep the mental image of your own parents going at it out of your head and see how well you fare!" Hummingbird grumbled good-naturedly, giving his shoulder a light shove. After a few moments of quiet, Robin grabbed Hummingbird's hand and rose into the air.

"Come with me. I have something I want to show you," he said. Hummingbird stood and said, "But we shouldn't leave the palace…you know the state of things."

"We'll be okay. Come on, this is awesome. I promise you won't regret it," Robin said. Hummingbird smiled again and leapt into the air to follow him.

Robin let Hummingbird chase him as they weaved through forests and dipped and soared along a river until they came to a waterfall and Robin looked back for a second at his companion and then plunged headfirst down the steep falls.

"Jason!" Hummingbird shouted as she followed him. She copied his dive over the falls and suddenly lost sight of him. Seconds later a pair of arms took hold of her and yanked her backwards into the torrents of falling water. She screeched and pulled away as Robin rolled in the air in fits of laughter.

"Is this what you dragged me out here for?" Hummingbird cried.

"No!" Robin laughed. "That is." Hummingbird turned, and they were hovering over the most beautiful lake she had ever seen. Hummingbird's jaw dropped open and Robin chuckled.

"Told ya," he said, floating there with her in the air.

"Wow…" Hummingbird whispered breathlessly.

"Wanna go for a dip?" Robin said, moving down to the ground.

"Thanks to you, I've already been in," she teased.

"I promise you'll like it more in the lake than in the waterfall. Come on," he said, peeling off his shirt. For a moment, Hummingbird was transfixed by the sight of his bare chest. For sixteen, his muscles were well defined and lean. His six-pack abs were worth the whole flight to this particular location.

"Aren't you coming?" he said gently. Hummingbird could resist his green eyes no longer. She pulled off her jeans and sweatshirt, toed off her shoes and closed the space between them. Robin could only stare at the sight of her clad only in her underpinnings. Hummingbird took Robin's hand and led him into the water, the chill raising goose bumps on their bare flesh. For a while, the two swam, played and dove deep down beneath the surface to tease the shimmering little fish that lived there.

After about a half hour, Robin pulled himself up to the surface right in front of Hummingbird making her gasp in surprise.

"You startled me!" she laughed, wiping the water out of her violet eyes. Without a word, Robin leaned forward and kissed Hummingbird's lips, lingering there for a full thirty seconds before pulling back. Stunned, Hummingbird was speechless for a while before she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, slowly melting against his chest as she relaxed in his arms. Robin wound his arms around her waist, sliding one hand up her back and into her hair, holding her tight as he absorbed the energy in her reaction. Finally parting lips, the two young heroes looked at each other and caught their breath.

"I've been waiting years for that," Robin said, still holding Hummingbird close.

"What were you waiting for?" Hummingbird replied, brushing his nose with her own. Robin reacted and kissed her again, subconsciously turning them in the water. Suddenly, Hummingbird broke the kiss.

"What's wrong?" Robin whispered.

"Someone's watching," Hummingbird replied.

"How do you know?" Robin asked, pulling his jeans back on and fighting his shirt back over his soaking torso.

"Hold still," Hummingbird ordered. She rested one hand on his chest and one hand on her own. Jason felt what he could only describe as a stiff breeze blow over them both and seconds later, their clothing was dry.

"Neat trick," he grinned.

"Momma taught me that," Hummingbird said. A branch snapped in the distance and both teens came to attention in the direction of the sound.

"You needn't fear me," said the voice. "I am a friend."

"Yeah, prove it," Robin growled.

"As a matter of fact," said the distinctly masculine voice. "I am family."

"Family?" Robin said, slowly lowering his fist, glowing dangerously with a starbolt ready.

"I don't believe you!" Hummingbird cried, her powers crackling between her delicate fingers.

The figure stepped out of the shadows and both youngsters gasped as they lowered their weapons. Bright red hair and green eyes stood out in the face of this man. He was tall and lean and dressed in purple, just like Robin.

"It can't be…" Robin said. "You're dead….Auntie Blackfire said she…you can't be…"

"Prince Ryand'r!" Hummingbird gasped.


	11. Challenging Danger

Chapter 11: Challenging the Danger

"You two should not be out here alone," Ryand'r said as his nephew threw his arms around him and hugged him.

"How did you get away?" Hummingbird asked.

"Get away from where? I did not go with my parents to the third moon. I am allergic to the metals that are mined there. It is why Hesperos is a great warrior and I am only allowed to give orders from the palace. Our war ships are constructed of the metals we mine. I have been overseeing the reforestation efforts on the western continent. Why? What has happened? If my nephew is here, then surely my sweet sister Starfire is home as well!" Ryand'r cried in sudden happiness. "Let us return to the palace! I wish to greet my big sister!"

"Oh my god…Jason, he doesn't know," Hummingbird said, resting her hands on Robin's shoulders. Suddenly, Ryand'r's face fell.

"What do I not know?" Ryand'r demanded, looking from Hummingbird to Robin. "Surely, nothing has befallen my beautiful sister?"

"No, Uncle, tonight Rosemary and I were to be presented here at court with the other Titans and their children. Instead of grandmother and grandfather coming into the great hall after mother and dad, my Aunt Blackfire appeared. She told us that she…she said she's killed them, uncle…grandmother and grandfather are dead!" Robin replied. He was crying again and crumpled to the ground with his uncle, holding his shoulders and mourning with him.

"What has been done to recover them?" Ryand'r asked, still not looking up from the ground.

"Galfore has sent General Hesperos and his team to the third moon and the other battalions have been dispatched to search starting from the palace and spreading out. They are not to return without Blackfire. Hesperos has vowed not to return without your parents. They believe you, too, to be dead," Hummingbird replied.

"I will return with you to the palace. You both should be in bed and I must hide," Ryand'r thought out loud.

"Come with me. You can hide in my room for the night. No one will look for you there," Robin said. Ryand'r nodded and the three flew back to the palace in silence. Hummingbird slipped unnoticed back into the suite and changed before creeping into bed with Thetis.

"Livie?" Thetis mumbled.

"It's just me, sis," Hummingbird mumbled. "Go back to sleep."

"You just got here?" Thetis said sleepily.

"How'd you know that?" Hummingbird whispered. A small furry head and whiskers twitched and tiny black eyes peeked out from the top of a small animal carrier on the nightstand. Hercules, Thetis' sleek white mouse, crept back into his carrier and buried himself under the bedding for the night.

"Where were you?" Thetis whispered.

"Tell you in the morning," Hummingbird mumbled.

Unfortunately for Robin, his entrance was not quite so silent. He entered the suite quietly enough, but as soon as he set one foot in the common area, a light clicked on and he froze.

"Where have you been? Your mother was ready to wake up the whole palace and your sister was worried sick," Nightwing growled.

"Dad, you won't believe what I've found!" Robin whispered.

"All you've found, young man is trouble. Get in here and get to bed," Nightwing ordered.

"Uncle Ryand'r, come on!" Robin said.

"Jason Todd that's not funny," Nightwing growled, beginning to grit his teeth.

"It's true! Why would I make this up?" Robin cried. Nightwing pushed his son out onto the balcony and removed his leather belt. "Dad…"

"You tell me how else I'm supposed to impress upon you just how much trouble you're in. Blackfire is out there just waiting for an opportunity to kill you and you decide to leave the palace, unguarded and alone to go looking for what? You couldn't possibly have known where to start looking," Nightwing shouted.

"I only went to the lake. I needed to think," Robin replied, starting to shake under the palpable waves of his father's anger.

"Well, obviously you weren't thinking," Nightwing said. He grabbed Robin's arm and turned him toward the railing, ordering him to grab it. Robin winced for a split second before the belt came down.

Inside, Ryand'r has slipped into the suite when Nightwing confronted Robin. He hated leaving Robin out there to bear the full brunt of Nightwing's anger, but he desperately needed to see his sister. He had heard from their parents that she was again expecting a baby, and he was thrilled that she would be on their home world while she was pregnant. He quietly approached the side of the bed and Starfire took a deep breath as she rolled over and sat up.

"Husband? Is that you?" she whispered.

"My sweet elder sister…it is so good to see you at last! Please, let me look at you!" Ryand'r whispered back.

"It is some manner of cruel joke…my brother is dead!" Starfire wept softly. Ryand'r lit a lamp and knelt next to her.

"Look upon me, my dearest sister, and believe! It is truly I who kneel before you!" Ryand'r replied, taking Starfire's hand and placing it on his cheek. Starfire looked into his eyes and then softly gasped.

"My baby brother! It is you! But how did you ever escape?" Starfire sobbed, throwing her arms around him as he rose to sit on the edge of the bed. Quietly, he told her about how he found Robin along side the lake, precisely where he himself used to go to get away from things. Both the noble prince and his nephew carefully left out the fact that Hummingbird had been there with them. When this was complete, Ryand'r held his sister close and stroked her hair.

"But wait," Starfire said minutes later. "If Jason found you near the lake, where is he now?"

"I am afraid I left him to face his father on his own. I am not familiar with your husband's nature. I hope he will not be too harsh with my nephew," Ryand'r replied.

"Did you arrive with Jason? Does my husband know that you are alive?" Starfire said. Ryand'r hung his head. Starfire gathered her strength and rose from the bed, but before she could get to the door of the bedroom, she heard Robin's bedroom door open and shut. When Nightwing came back into his and Starfire's bedroom, his eyes widened to find his lost brother-in-law, exactly as Robin had told him, alive and well and standing before him.

"Husband…what has happened?" Starfire asked, rushing to his side when Nightwing sank uneasily into a chair.

"I just punished Jason for leaving the palace and for lying to me about Ryand'r. Now I come back to bed and here's Ryand'r, just the way he said. How am I supposed to face him in the morning?" Nightwing grumbled.

"You'll do exactly that—you will face him in the morning. Give him the night to vent his frustration and to heal and rest. In the morning you will speak to him. I will help you if you like," Ryand'r said. "But tonight, I owe him an apology. I should have been there to defend him when you accused him of lying and I wasn't there." Ryand'r said. Starfire and Nightwing nodded and Ryand'r made his way down the short corridor. A little vision in a long white nightgown met him before his destination.

"Is it really you, Uncle Ryand'r?" a soft voice said. Ryand'r smiled and knelt before her.

"Yes, my sweet niece, it is I," he replied. A smile spread over the angelic face, even in the darkness, and she threw herself into his arms, new tears falling from her eyes.

"I knew it!" she whispered. "I knew you couldn't be dead! Oh, uncle, I just knew it!" Ryand'r held her and then stood, kissing her cheeks and her forehead and then placing her back in her bed.

"We shall talk more in the morning, Rosemary," Ryand'r said. Rosefire nodded and rolled over, wrapping the covers tightly around her and snuggling her face down into her teddy bear. Silkie crawled into the room and growled at Ryand'r when he saw the unfamiliar man standing over his young mistress. Ryand'r could only grin.

"This must indeed be Silkie, my sister's beloved pet! Greetings, Silkie, I am brother to your mistress, so you have nothing to fear from me," Ryand'r said, offering his hand to be examined by the mutant beast. Silkie sniffed, sniffed again, and then took a firm bite. Ryand'r gritted his teeth, but didn't pull away. Silkie released him and looked up at him. Ryand'r's expression was calm and remained friendly-looking. Silkie squealed and suddenly demanded that Ryand'r hold him. The prince obliged, picking the creature up and stroking him. "There, you see? Nothing to fear," Ryand'r smiled and took Silkie with him when he knocked on Robin's door. There was no reply but Silkie nudged the door open before Ryand'r could knock again.

"Jason? I know you're hurting right now, but I need to say something to you. Are you awake?" Ryand'r said. Ryand'r sat on the edge of Robin's bed and waited for the teen to speak.

"He's never struck me before," Robin said.

"I know. Your mother told me. I fear some of that is my fault. I should have been there to prove that you were not lying to your father. It was very brave of you to take your punishment though," Ryand'r replied.

"You told them what happened?" Robin asked, still not looking at his uncle.

"I told them that I found you walking on the lake shore the way I used to do when I was your age," Ryand'r said.

"You didn't tell them about Livie and me?" Robin said, finally looking a Ryand'r as he spoke.

"That is for the two of you to tell when the time is right. For now, I fear you will be in enough trouble when Olivia's brothers find out. Until then, your secret is safe with me," Ryand'r said, patting his nephew's shoulder.

"Thank you, uncle," Robin said, sitting up carefully and hugging him.

"Good night, my nephew," Ryand'r said, ruffling Robin's hair before he rose from the bed and shut off the light.

The next morning, when it was discovered that Prince Ryand'r had escaped the massacre of his family, the people of Tamaran rejoiced. It reinforced the hope that Starfire had so diligently impressed upon them that rebellious Princess Blackfire would be brought to justice swiftly.

It was still early morning when Robin rose from his bed and followed his uncle out of the suite.

"Where are we going?" Robin whispered once they were out in the corridor.

"The training courtyard. My father and I go there every morning to train and to work with our warriors. Since Father is not here, I decided that you and I could spend more time together," Ryand'r answered.

"Sounds great," Robin said with a smile. When the two arrived, many of Tamaran's warriors were gathered there, observing a match already in progress in the center of the courtyard. Off to one side and slightly elevated above the action, Robin spied his mother and sister, and several of his 'aunts' with their young children watching the action from sidelines.

"Did I oversleep?" Robin asked his uncle. Ryand'r smiled. "It seems we're the last to arrive."

"You're not the last, but after last night, there was more than one person who thought you needed the extra rest," Ryand'r replied. Robin excused himself for a moment to greet his mother and sister and then his aunts. He kissed Starfire and Rosefire and moved carefully around the littlest children to hug his aunts.

"G'morning Auntie Torque, Auntie Terra," Robin said, acknowledging each of them in turn. "Good morning Auntie Raven." Robin lightly kissed Raven's cheek and she smiled approvingly. Robin glanced at her arms as he hugged her over the back of her chair and noted something he didn't approve of. "Auntie Raven, where did you get those bruises?"

"Now don't you go reading anything into that," Raven said, looking Robin squarely in the eyes. "Uncle Changeling and I…well…lost control a bit last night…it's nothing that won't heal in the next hour or so."

"All right, I believe you, but if he ever deliberately hurt you," Robin warned.

"If I ever deliberately hurt her, you would be the least of my worries," Changeling said, resting a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Between your dad and our other teammates, I wouldn't have a prayer." The group laughed for a moment and then Robin turned, watching as Tempest and Arsenal left the center combat ring. Into it now walked his father.

"Who will challenge me?" Nightwing called with a confident grin. He pulled his staff, gave it a good turn and swish for good measure, and repeated himself. "Who will challenge me?" The Tamaranian warriors were not sure they should. Their Earth-born prince was clever and strong to say the least, and striking royalty, even when invited to do so, must be against the laws somewhere, right? Nightwing's teammates chuckled. Most of them had had their pride handed to them by Nightwing before and they knew better than to ask for seconds. Robin set his jaw. After last night, he had a score to settle.

"I will," Robin called, causing all of the dull roar of chatter to stop as he descended the platform and entered the ring, looking his father in the eyes and drawing his own staff.

"I will challenge you," Robin said. For a moment, Nightwing hesitated. This was his child…how was he to fight his only son? Then he remembered his behavior the previous night. Robin had every right to challenge him after the way he had treated him.

"Agreed," Nightwing said. The crowd around them rose to their feet and suddenly the roar of cheering was deafening and shattered the peace of the morning. From the throne area, the other lady Titans looked at Starfire in confusion.

"You're not allowing this!" Torque asked in disbelief. Starfire explained the events of the night before and the other girls stared in shock.

"Dick did what?" Raven gasped.

"He swore he'd never raise a hand to the kids," Terra murmured.

"They need to do this," Torque said. "They need to work it out. This is the only way Jason is going to reconcile this in his head. Nightwing responded to him with violence and Jason feels the need to return the favor."

"I just hope they know what they're doing," Hummingbird said, sitting down near her mother.

"Oh, I think they do," Raven said. The group watched intently as Robin took the first swing, catching his father off guard. Nightwing blocked and struck back, recovering his footing and launching into the match. Two minutes passed before Robin once again gained a favorable advantage and swept his father's feet out from under him. Nightwing cried out as he hit the ground and rolled over onto his stomach in an attempt to get his hands and feet under him. Unfortunately, he underestimated his son. Robin brought his staff down across Nightwing's back. Nightwing screamed and rolled again, only to find Robin standing over him, the tip of a staff inches from his face. The roar of the crowd died down when Nightwing didn't attempt to get up. Robin's breath was heaving in his chest, and tears streaked his face. He was gritting his teeth so hard it was almost audible.

"Do you yield?" Robin growled. Nightwing could only stare.

"Son…"

Robin grew impatient. "Do you yield?" he screamed through his tightly clenched teeth.

"Yes…" Nightwing whispered hoarsely. Robin refused to stand down.

"You beat me last night…why?" Robin demanded. The two ignored the scrupulous silence of the other warriors.

"I'm sorry!" Nightwing cried. "I was afraid!"

"Afraid of what?" Robin cried.

"I was afraid that you had been hurt or killed and I wasn't there to protect you! I couldn't have faced myself in the mirror if you had been killed—couldn't face your mother! What else do you want from me?" Nightwing shouted. Robin dropped his staff and fell to his knees on the packed sand of the arena. Nightwing sat up with father's tears in his eyes. Robin threw himself into Nightwing's arms and the two sat there, clutching each other and finishing the tears forming rivers of liquid in the dust sticking to their faces.

"I love you, son," Nightwing said into Robin's ear. "You, your sister and your mother are my world and I would die if anything happened to you."

"I love you, too," Robin replied softly. With this, he stood and helped his father up. The crowd erupted into cheers again and the others, who had been sitting with Starfire and Rosefire, stood and cheered along with them.

The matches continued as Nightwing and Robin joined the others in the stands. Raven stood and made Nightwing sit down on a nearby stool.

"Take off that shirt and let me heal that welt your son just gave you," Raven said, mother's authority in her voice. Nightwing winced and shook his head.

"I deserved that welt. Leave it," Nightwing insisted.

"Dick…" Raven protested. Nightwing stood and turned to her, taking her hands in his and lightly kissing each one.

"After what I did to him last night, I deserve to hurt for a while. Thank you, Raven," Nightwing said.

"Well, lets at least see was junior did to you," Arsenal said, interrupting the group. Nightwing obliged and removed his shirt anyway, revealing a dark red and purple welt forming in a straight line across Nightwing's back. The team grimaced and a cool wind gusted across the pavilion.

"Mother, may I wear your green sweater?" Rosefire asked her mother. Starfire smiled.

"Did you not bring one of your own, my child?" she asked.

"Of course I did, but I like yours better," Rosefire replied.

"Very well then," Starfire said, grinning. "But you must retrieve it from daddy's and my bedroom."

"I can do that. I'll be back before you know it," Rosefire said, turning to go back inside the palace. Once she got to the suite and retrieved the sweater, she pressed it against her face and took a deep breath of the scent that was inherently her mother and it made her smile. She stepped out of the suite and back into the corridor and headed back for the training courtyard.

As she walked, she stopped to look out a window and noticed something sprawled out on the landing of the steps on the outside of the castle leading down to the inner battlements. The little heroine in Rosefire was instantly on high alert as she pulled the sweater over her head and then jumped into the air, sailing down to the side of the apparently injured person.

"Are you all right?" Rosefire cried, shaking the woman's shoulders. The woman's lifeless form suddenly came to life and she rolled over, pulling Rosefire near and quickly winding rope around the youngster's limbs.

"What are you doing? Stop it! Let me go! HELP! DADDY, MOTHER, HELP!" Rosefire screamed. The sound carried on the breeze and Robin heard what sounded like a call for help.

"It's just the wind," Starfire said. "The tall towers and battlements make the wind whistle and sometimes it sounds like a voice."

"No, I heard something," Robin said, looking about.

"Jason, help me!" Rosefire screamed again.

"Now I know I heard it! Rosie!" Robin shouted, running to look over the edge of the stone wall. He watched as a dark haired woman vanished with his little sister slung over her shoulder. By the time the smoke dissipated from the disappearance, the rest of the team had joined them.

"ROSEMARY!"


	12. Turning the Tide

Chapter 12: Turning the Tide

Robin was in the air and over the wall before his father could stop him.

"Jason, wait!" Nightwing shouted. Robin dove downward; launching himself toward the spot he had last seen his little sister. Robin's feet touched the landing that Rosefire had disappeared from and the teen cast his critical eyes around the crime scene. Hummingbird hovered above him for a moment and then lightly touched down beside him, kneeling to look at whatever he appeared to have found.

"What is it, Jason?" Hummingbird asked.

"Green fibers…" he muttered.

"Those are probably from your mom's sweater. Rosie was wearing it when she disappeared," Hummingbird replied.

"Look at this," Catalyst said, bringing their attention to a few droplets of red liquid.

"If that's what I think it is…" Robin said, pulling a small kit from his belt. He took a swab of the substance and added two drops of clear solution from the kit. The swab turned bright purple.

"Blood," Robin said shortly.

"But whose? All this tells us is that Rosie put up a heck of a fight," Catalyst said. As he said this, the clouds obscured the sun and a soft crackling of thunder could be heard in the distance.

"If we're going to collect any evidence, we need to hustle," Hummingbird said, borrowing a brush and powder out of Robin's kit. A minute later, the elder Titans were there, helping their children collect and analyze the evidence at the scene. Little Beast Boy sat on the wall and watched, looking up occasionally at the sky.

"One…two…three…" he counted and then the thunder ripped across the sky, much closer now. Beast Boy screeched and rushed to his mother, taking refuge beneath her cloak. Raven draped one arm around him, holding him close to her and she lifted the other hand. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she called, creating a large dome over the scene as the sky opened up and rain began to pour down on the heroes. Once the crime scene was completely examined, the Titans shepherded their children into the castle.

When they arrived in the great room of the palace the young Titans sat together in a tight circle on the floor, keeping warm in front of the massive, roaring fire.

"Auntie Blackfire's capable of anything. Who knows where she could have taken Rosie," Robin said softly.

"Actually, we don't even know that it really was Blackfire that did this," Catalyst said.

"What do you mean, Toby?" Hummingbird said.

"All I'm saying is that Blackfire's not the only one we know who's capable of this kind of malicious behavior," Catalyst replied, picking at a spot on his shoes.

"Who else is there?" asked Proteus.

"None of you ever considered that Calypso may be behind this, huh?" Catalyst replied.

"No offense, man, but we haven't seen anything of Calypso in five years," Robin said.

"Toby's got a point. We shouldn't overlook her," Hummingbird said. Across the room, Thetis sat in a large, overstuffed chair and gently stroked a large magenta colored bird. She seemed to be listening intently as it cooed at her and occasionally chirped. Suddenly, Thetis stood and encouraged the bird to sit on her arm. She crossed the room with it and joined her friends.

"Guys, listen to this!" she said. The bird issued a series of soft chirps, whistles and coos that Thetis seemed to understand.

"We don't speak avian alien, little sister," Hummingbird said when the bird ceased to speak.

"He said that he saw Blackfire arrive yesterday—and she wasn't alone," Thetis said.

"Was the blood we found at the crime scene a match to either Rosie or Blackfire?" Hummingbird asked. Proteus produced a piece of paper from his pocket and read it.

"No…the DNA strand was fully human and Rosie's would have been half Tamaranian. Blackfire's would have been all Tamaranian," Proteus recalled.

"Oh my God…that means she really is here, Toby was right," Robin said.

"Worse…" moaned Beast Boy. "It means she's here AND she's in league with Blackfire!"

Far away, Rosefire's eyes slowly blinked open. She was lying on a large bed with smooth, warm white covers. She tried to look around, but her arms were bound behind her and her legs were tied together at the thigh, knee and ankle. Little Rosefire wasn't going anywhere. A gag prevented her from speaking, but she needn't have looked far. Sitting on the bed and tenderly stroking her warm, silky black hair was an unfamiliar face.

"Shhh….rest little one…when you're awake we'll play a game. I promise you'll like it…" The face of this mysterious person finally came into focus and Rosefire saw thick, abundant black hair and an olive complexion. The woman reached a long, slender hand to touch Rosefire and a dark purple ball of energy flew from across the room and burned the woman's hand. She shrank back and scowled at the perpetrator.

"You said I could keep her…she'll make such a lovely little pet," the woman pouted.

"Keep your hands off my niece, Calypso," said a voice from the doorway. Blackfire came forward and stood at the foot of the bed with her hands on her hips.

"In order for this little scheme to work out properly she has to be completely unharmed," Blackfire scolded. Calypso stood and followed her over to a window.

"Well, now that we have her, what do you intend to do with her? Hostage taking is a little old-school, don't you think?" Calypso teased. Blackfire rounded on her.

"This is my mission!" she shouted. "Try to remember that this is my home world, my kingdom, and you're working for me!"

"Are you finished?" Calypso sneered. "I'm only here because the brats are here. Back on Earth good minions are hard to come by. Most of the major evil-doing geniuses in the world were undone by their parents. These days most of the quality hired thugs out there are only closet nasties. I wind up having to do the majority of my villainy myself."

"That's the boon of being a princess of an entire world," Blackfire crooned. "your very own army ready and willing to fight and die in your name."

"Does your plan involve said army? I'm beginning to get a little bored waiting for you to put phase three into motion. What is phase three, anyway?" Calypso said eagerly.

"Let's not say anything in front of my niece. Little ears hear everything," Blackfire replied, hooking her hand in the crook of Calypso's arm.

"I'm breathless to know…" Calypso added. With this, the two left the room, leaving the littlest princess thoroughly confused and completely alone.

When Robin returned from putting on his uniform, Catalyst and Hummingbird were hand in hand, floating two feet off the floor and each was softly chanting aloud. The twins were already in uniform and ready to launch the investigation.

"Any luck?" Robin asked. Hummingbird opened her eyes, and then her brother.

"Nothing. There must be some heck of a blocking mechanism keeping me from reaching her. I'm as powerful as Momma was at our age. If it really is Calypso and Blackfire, the competition's pretty stiff," said Hummingbird.

"Blackfire's got the upper hand here on Tamaran and Calypso has no reason to make this easy on us," Catalyst added. The other young Titans came back into the great room one by one. Proteus was sporting a cheeky smile.

"Can I get a boo-ya?" he said, holding up his latest invention. Proteus' uniform was as much function as fashion. It interfaced with his neural structure and responded to his thoughts. Recently, brilliant Proteus had added a new toy to the already extensive arsenal of his armor: an arm cannon.

"You look like Mega Man, Reese!" Beast Boy squeaked.

"Thank you, thank you," Proteus grinned proudly.

"Does it work just like your dad's?" asked Thetis.

"Pretty much. It makes my right arm heavier, but I've been practicing and it doesn't inhibit me much anymore," Proteus replied.

"Sweet!"

"Awesome!"

"Sounds good," Hummingbird added. "Let's get down to business. I don't want anyone going out there alone so we'll have to split up into pairs and…"

"You mean groups," said a voice. "Nine Titans reporting for duty."

"What?" said Catalyst.

"You heard me," said Nightwing. "This is as much our mission as yours. Rosefire may be your teammate, but she's my daughter." Hummingbird smiled.

"How can I argue with that?" she said. "Come on over and let's get this figured out."

By this time, Rosefire had regained consciousness and her limbs were getting tired from being bound. She tried to wiggle her fingers and wrists, but each hand was bound in a metal, mitten-like cuff. She would have to find another way. The bed chamber, while sumptuous, revealed nothing that she could use to free herself—yet. Carefully and using every muscle she could, Rosefire inched herself to the edge of the bed and very, very slowly managed to sit up. She wobbled as she stood and tried to ease herself to the floor. Whatever Calypso and Blackfire had used to knock her out rendered her powerless, but ever her father's daughter, this wasn't going to stop stubborn Rosefire. Once on the floor, Rosefire squirmed and stretched until one of her shoulders made a harsh popping noise. Knowing that with the gag in place no one would hear her, she let out a muffled scream and started to cry. Still determined to free herself, she folded herself tightly and worked her hands back around to the front. Her shoulder was on fire from the intense, sharp pain, but at least she was now able to keep her balance as she worked the ropes loose. She managed to pull out some of her hair as she worked the gag loose, but it worked nonetheless. The last barrier between Rosefire and her freedom were the heavy cuffs. Rosefire sniffled back her tears and took a deep breath. Rosefire concentrated hard as she closed her eyes and focused all her energy into her hands. The metal was warming up when she thought she heard footsteps in the hall and panicked. The lock on the door clanked and Rosefire threw herself back on the bed just in time for the door to open.

"I wish to help, Olivia," said Prince Ryand'r as he approached the Titans. Hummingbird was assigning her teammates and all of the parents to three member groups. She was placing the last of them as Ryand'r arrived. She smiled at him and finished her orders with, "Mamma, I want you to take Daddy and Proteus. Prince Ryand'r, you're with me."

Immediately each group took off in a different direction, each of them in charge of a different part of the investigation. Three teams were charged with investigating the palace and grounds in search of Blackfire and Calypso, and the other three were to search specifically for Rosefire.

Closely guarded by large palace guards, Starfire emerged from the great room with the remaining four children and took them with her to the throne room.

"Has General Hesperos returned from his mission?" Starfire asked Galfor when she arrived. Galfor made a deep bow before her and waited until she was seated on her throne before he answered her question.

"My Empress, General Hesperos reported in just moments ago and he tells us that the mining operation on the third moon has suffered a massive cave-in. The entrance to the caves has been blocked by debris but readings indicate that there are survivors still trapped inside. He is requesting a team to assist in the rescue efforts," Galfor reported. A tear rolled silently down Starfire's cheek as she listened. She wiped it with a graceful hand and then softly replied, "Give the good General anything he requires to safely extricate the survivors." Galfor sensed that his young sovereign was still weak from lack of sleep and the stress of the previous day and simply murmured a quiet, "Your Majesty," before leaving the throne room. Erin Harper climbed the steps to the throne and sat down on the floor next to Starfire.

"Auntie, why does Galfor call you, 'majesty'?" she asked, picking at the ends of her long, rust-colored ponytail. Starfire smiled.

"He calls me that because I am Empress," Starfire replied gently.

"Why are you Empress, Auntie?" Erin asked, taking her bow from her back and stringing it.

"Because my parents ruled before me and it is my duty to rule. It is much like how your parents were Teen Titans, and you will become one too, before long," Starfire explained. Erin looked about the room for a target and it didn't take her long to find one: Cerdian and Faith were practicing cartwheels and handstands in the wide and empty throne room. Carefully taking aim at Cerdian, Erin adjusted her posture, lowered her elbow, relaxed her front hand and released. The suction-cup arrow whizzed across the room and caught Cerdian square between the shoulders. Thanks to the mild adhesive that Arsenal had used on some of her arrows, the weapon stuck to Cerdian's uniform and Starfire found herself smiling as the young Prince of Atlantis tumbled to the ground.

"Are you okay, Cerdian?" Faith said, running over to check on him. Cerdian stood up and reached back in a vain attempt to grasp the arrow, but Erin's aim was far too good. It was just out of his reach. Erin rolled over on the floor giggling as she watched Faith and Cerdian working together to pull the arrow off Cerdian's back. Cerdian scowled at his adversary and started to run toward her, but five steps into his run, Cerdian tripped and fell, scraping his hands on the polished stone floor. When he started to cry, Starfire rose from her throne to go to him. When she got closer to the scene, she gasped in surprise as a part of the floor appeared to move and then issue a sound.

"That hurt!" a little voice squealed. Starfire knelt and coaxed Cerdian into her arms before looking again at the floor.

"Little Coral, is that you?" Starfire called. The little shape stood and the colors of the floor seemed to melt away and revealed Coral's true form.

"Coral! How'd you do that?" said Erin.

"Do what?" Coral replied.

"Cerdian tripped over you because he could not see you," Starfire said in amazement.

"I was invi--, invis-- …"

"Invisible!" cried Faith in disbelief.

"No," said Starfire. "She was the same colors as the floor!"

"Coral the chameleon! Coral the chameleon!" Cerdian sang.

"I'm telling Mommy!" she screeched back, stamping her foot.

"Children, please calm yourselves. It is merely Coral's special powers coming through," Starfire reminded them. Still mildly afraid of what she had just unconsciously done, Coral started to cry and crumpled into Starfire's arms as soon as Cerdian went to play with Erin and Faith. Starfire took Coral up in her arms and carried her back to the throne with her and sat down again, settling the little one into her lap.

"Auntie, I want my Mommy," Coral whimpered as she cuddled against Starfire's shoulder.

"I am certain that your mother is thinking about you as well, little one," Starfire said. Minutes later, General Hesperos returned to Tamaran and rushed to the throne room.

"Your Majesty! Marvelous news!" he cried.

"All teams report!" called Hummingbird as she and Ryand'r continued to search. Robin's team, consisting of he, Arsenal and Beast Boy was the first to respond.

"Team one, here. We've discovered heavy radio interference the farther west we go. Nothing's coming up on scanners yet, but we're going to keep going," Robin said.

"Copy that, Robin. Be careful, guys," Hummingbird replied.

"Team two reporting," Catalyst's voice announced. "Heading north on the trail of what looks like a landing site. Environmental readings suggest a space-worthy vehicle of some sort. If it's Blackfire's, we'll find it." With Torque and Jinx at his side, Hummingbird knew that her twin couldn't get into too much trouble.

"Acknowledged, Toby. Keep me posted," Hummingbird said. She and Ryand'r turned a corner and started down a staircase when team three radioed in.

"Team three," Nightwing called. "We're heading south by southwest toward the lake and Rumble's getting seismic activity readings. Could be nothing, but we'll keep in touch." Hummingbird nodded. With Tempest with them, searching the lake wouldn't be a problem.

"This is team four," Thetis' voice broke in next. "Nothing yet, Livie. Uncle Cyborg says he's scanning for life signs and Auntie Terra said we'll leave no stone unturned—literally." Hummingbird resisted the temptation to laugh. Instead she smiled and acknowledged them. They were assigned to the west wing of the palace.

"Team five checking in, Hummingbird," Raven responded. It warmed Hummingbird all the way to her toes to hear her mother's voice. "We're on the east wing of the palace and we're getting strange readings from the armory and smithy. Proceeding with caution." Hummingbird blew out a deep breath in worry.

"Be careful, Mamma," Hummingbird replied. "Ryand'r and I are heading down toward the palace servant's quarters and then the dungeons. Titans, over and out."

"What is it, General Hesperos?" Starfire cried as the children abruptly stopped their play and ran to her side. Starfire stood and Hesperos strode quickly down the middle of the room to the throne, briskly taking a bow before her.

"Your Majesty, the survivors have been successfully extracted and among them are those who would have a word with you," Hesperos grinned. Her heart pounding, Starfire quickly stepped down from her seat and followed Hesperos toward the door to the throne room with the children tight on her heels. Before they got to the door, Hesperos and Starfire stopped short as they heard voices calling, "Your highness! Your highness! Please, you must let us examine you to be certain—" these voices were usurped by a deep, gruff and stubborn voice bellowing, "Examine me! I've never been 'examined' in my life! I want to know who is responsible for this and I want to know NOW! Where is General Hesperos? Where is my son? Where—"

The children cowered behind Starfire and Coral started to cry again. Starfire was about to pick her up again when the throne room doors and the terrible, imposing figure of Myand'r of Tamaran loomed angry in the doorway. He interrupted himself as he pulled the heavy doors open and came face to face with his middle child. In the terror of the explosion that caused the cave-in, he had completely forgotten that she and her family were coming. Starfire felt weak for only a split second before the King's eyes met those of his favorite daughter. The temper in Myand'r ebbed within seconds and his eyes filled with un-masculine tears.

"M-my daughter…" he mumbled. "My Koriand'r has come home at last!" Still dusty from his rescue from the caves, Myand'r drew his daughter close and the two embraced as Starfire started to cry along with him.

"I was so afraid that you were dead! What has become of my mother?" Starfire wept.

"Your mother is in the infirmary nursing a bump on the head. We were well protected during our tour of the mining facility," Myand'r answered, leaning back a little to look at his daughter and stroke her hair. "X'hal…you are as beautiful as your mother."

"Oh, Father!" Starfire cried, hugging him again. Myand'r looked over her shoulder to the little one's staring wide-eyed at the scene before them.

"These innocents, are these my grandchildren?" Myand'r asked. Starfire laughed a bit for the first time in two days.

"No, Father. These are the youngest of the children of my teammates. The others, including my son and my husband, have divided into search parties looking for my daughter. We fear that Blackfire, my sister has brought another villain from Earth and that they have kidnapped our young Rosemary!" Starfire explained.

"Kidnapped my granddaughter…this will not stand," Myand'r grumbled. "Where is your brother?"

"Ryand'r went with the other Titans to assist in the search," Starfire said as Myand'r went to the center throne and sat down.

"In the meantime, would you be so gracious as to introduce me to these young ones?" Myand'r said, adopting an expression that could best be described as that of father Christmas.

"Father, let me introduce Faith Stone, Erin Harper, and Cerdian and Coral Markov. The Markov children are the crown Prince and Princess of Atlantis on Earth, Father," Starfire said proudly. Each of the children bowed or curtsied as his or her name was said and they smiled shyly at the still intimidating figure of the former King of Tamaran.

"Should you not be assisting with the search, Koriand'r?" Myand'r asked, looking up at her. Starfire didn't realize until then that her loose gown hid the slight bulge in her belly.

"I would, Father, but as it is, I am yet six months before my time with your third grandchild and my husband wishes us both to remain safe," Starfire said, blushing and running a hand affectionately over her belly. A radiant smile spread across the king's face and he laughed uproariously in joy.

"First rescued from the clutches of death and reunited with my daughter and now the announcement that I am a grandfather a third time! This is indeed a grand day!" Myand'r chuckled. "Come to me, dear children. You needn't fear old Myand'r!" The little ones looked at each other and grinned, all four breaking into a run and laughing and squealing as they threw themselves onto the king's lap.

"Galfor! Come and escort my daughter to her room. My darling, rest yourself for now. The little ones are safe here with me. I will send your mother to visit with you when she is released from the infirmary," Myand'r said kindly.

"Thank you, Father," Starfire said, looking like a weight had been removed from her shoulders. She bowed slowly and then preceded Galfor out of the throne room.

About the time Starfire drifted off to sleep with Silkie at her feet, Hummingbird and Ryand'r stepped cautiously into the dungeons and Team Three, Nightwing's team, cleared the forest and approached the lake. Rumble looked up from his analyzer and his eyes widened.

"Holy…shitake mushrooms!" Rumble exclaimed. "Uncle Nightwing! Uncle Tempest! Come quick!"


	13. Far Away

Chapter 13: Far Away

_Author's Note: The two songs included in this chapter are "To the Moon and Back" by Savage Garden and "Private Radio" by Vanessa Carlton. _

* * *

It had been less than a week since the Titans blasted off for their trip to Tamaran but for Silver Nova, it might as well have been a month. The sensation of Catalyst's lips on hers still made her mouth tingle when she thought about it and wearing her new Titans uniform that he had designed for her with help from Proteus only reinforced her affection for him. Silver Nova stood in front of her mirror and readjusted her hair to look neater over the headband that matched her cropped tank top and miniskirt. Beneath the whole outfit was a layer of special mesh that shielded her teammates from the radiation that her body naturally gave off. In reality, she owed Catalyst her life, and she would never be able to pay him back. If adjusting to life in Titan's Tower was a little tough for her, all she had to do was think of Rorek, the fantasy knight come to life. He had had to adjust to a completely different world!

Rorek was sitting in the ops room with Bumblebee and Mammoth, a large pad of sketch paper in his lap. Bumblebee finally dropped the controller to the Gamestation and scowled at Mammoth. The Massive villain-turned-Titan could only chuckle as he watched his teammate go as scarlet as she possibly could beneath her mocha colored skin.

"How do you do that?" Bumblebee screeched. "That's the third round in a row!"

"Practice. You never seem to want to participate when we play at home," Mammoth teased.

"Hmph. Bully," Bumblebee snorted, standing and leaving Mammoth to play the next round by himself. She looked over and finally noticed that occasionally Rorek would look up at her and then back to his sketch pad.

"Whatcha got there, Rorek?" Bumblebee said with a soft smile. She peeked over his shoulder and Rorek slowly lowered his pencil. Bumblebee had never blushed so hard in her life.

"Wow…" Bumblebee commented breathlessly. Rorek had drawn Bumblebee from the shoulders up, leaving no detail unattended to. Bumblebee thought she was looking in a mirror. Beside him on the arm of the chair was a small stack of other portraits. He had drawn Mas and Menos playing speed chess, Hummingbird fast asleep on the couch next to Robin, and more. Near the bottom of the pile, as if he was hiding it, was a brilliant drawing of himself dancing with Thetis.

"I wonder who danced with her at the grand ball the night they arrived," Rorek said with a small smile.

"I'm sure her father did," Bumblebee replied gently. "And probably Toby or Caleb. She and Aidan are about the same height. Maybe he danced with her." Rorek looked down at his drawing of Bumblebee and was quiet. Bumblebee squeezed his shoulder.

"I'm sure she misses you, too, big guy," Bumblebee reassured her.

Bumblebee left the ops room and headed down the stairs to the danger room, where she thought she heard the sound of someone running a simulation inside. Bumblebee hit the interrupt button and waited as the ringing alarm went off and the green light went on for her to enter. Aries was on her back on the floor laughing.

"I forgot how much fun their simulator was! That drone was about to kick my butt! Wanna help?" Aries cried, getting up off the floor and checking for breaks in her bow. Finding it sound she waited for Bumblebee to charge up her B shaped weapons and grinned as she shouted, "GO!"

The week had been uneventful by comparison to a similar time for Titans East. It seemed that there was never a shortage of bad guys to beat down in Steel City. It seemed that villains in Jump City were finally learning. Of course, there had been the odd mission here and there such as Dr. Light finding a very nice jewelry store, and just that morning Control Freak had haunted a hotel. But certainly nothing that Titans East couldn't handle.

Bored from sitting in her room, Silver Nova clipped an mp3 player to her uniform and pressed headphones over her ears before heading for the gym. She couldn't seem to get Catalyst out of her head and she decided that maybe a brisk run on the treadmill would help.

"_She can't remember a time when she felt needed  
If love was red then she was color blind  
All her friends they've been tried for treason  
And crimes that were never defined  
She's saying, "Love is like a barren place,  
And reaching out for human faith  
Is like a journey I just don't have a map for"  
So baby's gonna take a dive and  
Push the shift to overdrive  
Send a signal that she's hanging  
All her hopes on the stars  
What a pleasant dream   
She's sayin'_

_I would fly to the moon and back if you'll be...  
If you'll be my baby  
Got a ticket for a world where we belong  
So would you be my baby?"_

Silver Nova lost herself in the rhythm of the music and the sound of her feet hitting the belt of the treadmill and slowly, her ache for Catalyst eased and she felt much better.

By the time she had finished her workout with Aries and had cleaned up, Bumblebee was starving.

"I don't know about anybody else, but I need to get out of the Tower for a while. Who wants dinner out, tonight?" she called. Seconds later, Mas and Menos were there, bouncing up and down begging to know when they were leaving. Aries, Silver Nova and Rorek came next, and Mammoth lumbered in behind them.

"I know the neatest little jazz club that makes the best food you've ever had," Bumblebee suggested.

"Cool!"

"Sounds great!"

"Is there a live band?"

"¡Vayamos!"

Fifteen minutes later, all seven Titans were seated in a round corner booth facing the stage. The ambiance was cool and fresh and the music was even better. The food, as Bumblebee predicted was one of the best meals the team had ever had. After the dinner dishes were cleared away, the soloist on the stage changed, and the amazing trumpet player who had played all the way through their meal stepped down to allow another artist to play. The lights went down low and the dance floor was open, and slowly, pairs of people walked out to the floor to dance. The smooth, passionate tones were easy to follow, and Rorek bravely stood and made a short bow before his teammates.

"Dearest Aries, would you consent to dance with me?" Rorek asked politely.

"When you word it that way—how can I say no!" Aries grinned, giving him her hand to help her up. They were not gone long when the soloist from the dinner hour strode calmly to their table and smiled at them.

"I don't get undivided attention very often, so I had to come over and say thanks," the man said. His voice was smooth, warm and deep, like melted dark chocolate. The same analogy, Bumblebee observed, could be applied to his skin and certainly his eyes. She shifted uncomfortably and the musician looked up at her. With a toothless smile, he softly winked at her. Bumblebee was glad the lights were down; none of her teammates needed to see the shade of blush she was turning.

"Hey, pretty lady, wanna dance?" he said, looking pointedly at Bumblebee. Without a word, the leader of Titans East slid out of the booth and gave this dashing stranger her hand. Waiting a few minutes to be polite, Mas climbed out followed by his brother and took his hand. Then the two held out their free hands to Silver Nova.

"¡Venga y baile con nosotros, chica bonita!" they said together.

"Well, since you put it that way!" Silver Nova giggled. "Will you be okay, Mammoth?"

"Sure, kiddo. You go ahead," Mammoth replied, smiling at Silver Nova. As soon as she was out of earshot, he muttered to himself, "Maybe there's a carnival in town and I'll get lucky…" Meanwhile, out on the dance floor, Bumblebee was having the time of her life.

"You sound so familiar. Do I know you?" Bumblebee asked.

"I do some freelance hero work here and there. Y'know, requests and such," he replied. "The name's Duncan. Malcolm Duncan."

"Karen Beecher," Bumblebee replied as they swayed. Malcolm's eyes widened.

"You're Bumblebee," he said. "I've seen your pretty face on the news."

"Aw, I'm not all that. Couldn't do it without my team. What do they call you when you do your thing?" Bumblebee flirted.

"Well, I got this horn that opens dimensional portals and such. They call me Herald," he replied.

"Sounds fascinating," Bumblebee said with a smile. She lightly bit her bottom lip and then looked her partner in the eyes again. "So…what else can that horn of yours do?"

Half an hour later, Bumblebee handed her keys to Aries.

"What's going on, Bee?" Aries asked.

"This nice gentleman has kindly offered to escort me home later tonight," Bumblebee said with a grin.

"She's in good hands," Malcolm assured Aries when he saw her look of uncertainty.

"Do you have your comm. Bee?" Aries asked.

"'deed I do!" she said, leaning into Malcolm's arm.

"All right, be careful then. We'll only be a few more minutes here ourselves and then we're going to call it a night," Aries said.

"Gotcha. See you guys in the morning!" Bumblebee sang as she and Malcolm left the club.

"She said her companion would return her later tonight," Rorek commented. "Why did she say she would see us in the morning?" Aries laughed.

"Rorek, how old are you?" Aries asked.

"By your calendars, I appear to be approximately 18 years of age," Rorek replied. Aries leaned closer and wound her arm around Rorek as they danced so that she could whisper in his ear. As she spoke, Rorek's expression took on a look of increasing horror.

"Bumblebee is aware of what she is doing?" Rorek gasped. Aries was laughing again.

"Yes, Rorek, I'm sure she knows exactly what she's doing!"

"_All the world has gone to bed  
And I am drowning in it's silence  
But a solitude is in my head, from you, baby_

_And if the silence was a song  
Well, its rhythm grooves and it's a private radio  
And on this night I did belong  
In harmony_

_And you can't deny me  
And you will oblige me  
It's my melody_

_When the night comes  
When no one knows  
I can hear it  
I've got my private radio_

_Find me out of my pillow  
'Cause I'm lyin' here, but I am ready good to go  
And on a whim I leave this town  
Or not, I'll stay and chase the sun now"_

Silver Nova's mp3 player was ringing in her ears as she lie in her bed. She couldn't sleep, and decided that she would try something that Catalyst told her she could do. She took a deep breath and arranged herself flat on her bed, limbs uncrossed. Silver Nova closed her eyes and concentrated on Catalyst. She tried to picture him as clearly as she could in her mind. When she had him there, she called out in her mind, "_Toby? Toby, can you hear me?"_

Far away, nighttime had fallen on Tamaran. The majority of the search teams had returned to the palace without finding more than decoys leading to nothing. Team three, Nightwing, Rumble and Tempest, had yet to return and they had broken radio contact. Poor Catalyst could hardly keep his eyes open. His team had gone north looking for the origin of what looked like an emergency landing. When they arrived they discovered more evidence to suggest a landing, but no ship and no passengers. Catalyst was sitting in the great room near the fire and quickly nodded off to sleep. He wasn't asleep long when he heard it.

"_Toby? Toby, can you hear me?"_

"Kyler?" he mumbled in his sleep. Focusing his energies, the sound became clearer.

"_If you hear this, Toby, I miss you! Bumblebee took us all out for dinner and dancing tonight and even thought Mas and Menos are great…oh, I wanted you! If you get this—send me another kiss, won't you? Always yours, Kyler._"

"_I'll send you one now, but you get two when I get home. I've missed you, too. I hope your suit is working well. Give my best to Titans East. I really need to get some sleep. Goodnight, Kyler. Toby." _Catalyst transmitted back. He debated telling Silver Nova what had happened, but he knew that there wasn't anything she or the other Titans could do from there. He was startled awake when Robin's team returned. Robin was not a happy young hero.

"Damnit, damnit, damnit!" he screamed, throwing his staff and his cloak across the room. He ran his hands through his hair and dropped into a chair. Arsenal walked through the room carrying Beast Boy. Catalyst looked up at them when he distinctly heard his little brother crying.

"What happened?" Catalyst demanded. Arsenal motioned for him to be quiet and gently set Beast Boy into Catalyst's lap. Instinctively, Catalyst wound his arms around him.

"Are your parents back yet?" Arsenal asked softly. Catalyst shook his head.

"Teams three and four are the only other ones back besides us," Catalyst told him. He nodded. "Where's Torque?" he added.

"I'm right here," Torque murmured, coming into the light. She looked as though she, too, had been crying. "Nightwing's team is still out there. My baby is still out there."

"I know, angel. He's safe with them. I'm sure everything's all right," Arsenal said, pulling Torque into his arms.

"Where are the other kids?" Torque asked.

"Auntie Starfire put them to bed a while ago. Erin's probably asleep, but I'm sure she'd still like to know that you guys are back safe," Catalyst said. The Harpers nodded and left the great room. With them gone, Catalyst turned his attention to his still weeping little brother.

"What happened, buddy?" Catalyst asked, handing Beast Boy a tissue.

"We didn't find Rosie," Beast Boy wept. "and Jason's really, really mad…Mamma and dad and Olivia aren't back yet, are they? Is Emily?" Catalyst held his brother tight and little Beast Boy buried his head in his shoulder.

"Shh…it's okay, buddy…Emily's here, she's safe, Caleb," Catalyst said. "Aren't you, Emmie?" Thetis approached them and sat down on the arm of Catalyst's chair. She sniffled and nodded.

"I'm right here, Caleb. Don't you worry about me, okay?" Thetis replied, gently rubbing Beast Boy's back.

"Can't you talk to Mamma with your mind, Toby?" Beast Boy sniffled.

"Mamma's gotta concentrate right now. She'll be home as soon as she can. She and dad and Olivia are working really hard and they'll come home as soon as they can," Catalyst said. "I'll bet if we all go to bed right now, they'll be back when we wake up." By now, even brave Catalyst was tearing up. He stood, hoisting Beast Boy into his arms and carrying him as he and Thetis made their way back to their suite. To comfort Beast Boy as much as himself, Catalyst consented to them all sleeping in their parents' bed. Beast Boy latched onto his mother's pillow and quickly fell asleep. His siblings were not far behind.

Back in the great room, Jinx sat forward and rubbed her temples.

"They're all right, baby. Don't you worry none," Cyborg said. He had taken up the chair that the Logan kids had just vacated and Jinx was perched on his knee. In the chair opposite her was Terra, still rocking little Coral to sleep. Terra hummed softly to her little one, wrapped warmly in her favorite thick fleece blanket.

"Vic's right," Terra murmured. "We've all got family out there still. I'm just as worried about Garth as you must be about Reese."

"He didn't get much practice with that new arm cannon of his. I just worry about him running into a malfunction or defect that he doesn't know how to fix," Cyborg said.

"Reese is a smart kid. We'll just have to trust him," Terra said. Terra got up briefly to go and put Coral to bed, but just as she was returning, there was a noise in the corridor and familiar voices met her ears.

"We could have kept going."

"It's gotten too late. We're not going to find anything if we can't even light the way in front of us."

"We could put the little guy to bed and then go back."

"No."

"No?"

"We're exhausted, Gar. Even if we did find something we couldn't properly fight—not like this."

Terra smiled and greeted them when they were almost to the great room. "You're okay! Why did you cut off radio contact?"

"We didn't," Changeling said in confusion.

"Those radios have a range of thousands of miles. It couldn't just cut off," Raven said.

"We called you over and over and you didn't respond," Terra said. "Here, come in and sit down. Vic and Ronnie are gonna want Reese so that they can all get to bed."

"My mom and dad are here?" Reese yawned. Terra ruffled his hair.

"They sure are, buddy. Go on inside," she said. Terra followed the team into the room and was treated to the relieved looks on Cyborg and Jinx's faces when Reese plodded sleepily into the room. After the Stones went to their suite, Terra told Changeling and Raven that their children were worried and that she would stay up until the others returned. Raven wrapped her arms around Changeling as they turned around and walked to the door. They were nearly there when Changeling swept her up into his arms without even stopping. Raven spontaneously giggled and gasped, "I'm fully capable of walking, you know."

"I know, but I got to thinking just now: how long has it been since I carried the woman I love?" Changeling replied with a grin. "I mean, you've carried me before without even knowing it. You were there when I needed you and I don't think I tell you often enough what that means to me. So tonight, Mrs. Logan, you rest your feet for a little while and we'll go say goodnight to our children." Raven smiled and looked up into the eyes of her husband.

"I love you, Gar," she whispered. Terra smiled as they left, biting her lip to keep from crying as she turned around to resume her vigil. She noted that Robin was still sitting in the shadows at the back of the room and cautiously she joined him.

"Are you okay?" Terra asked.

"Do I look all right?" Robin muttered.

"I understand that you're really angry right now and that's okay to feel that way. If you want to talk about it, I'm going to be awake for a while, ok?" Terra said.

"This is some vacation," Robin growled. "We come to relax and be with our family and no matter what, something's always gotta go wrong."

"It's easy to get frustrated when you're a superhero, Jason. We're under a lot of stress and a lot of pressure and it's not an easy life whatsoever. It's a good habit to have someone you can go to and talk to when life throws you a curve ball," Terra replied.

"What do you know? You've never had to watch your family be separated and put back together and separated over and over again!" Robin shouted.

"Now wait just a minute here. We'll find Rosemary but it's going to take time," Terra said. Robin was on his feet.

"The Missing Persons Unit in Jump City declares a child dead after 48-72 hours. As in, if we don't find her in the next 24 hours, we're looking for a corpse, Auntie Terra. I won't put my mom through that!" Robin shouted.

"We have no reason to believe that Blackfire and Calypso would kill Rosemary. She's more valuable to them alive!" Terra cried.

"We've been searching all day and now it's almost midnight and Dad and Olivia are still out there! Am I supposed to consider them collateral damage?" Robin ranted.

"Tempest, Rumble and Ryand'r are out there, too. Don't you dare think that I haven't thought of them!" Terra growled, finally starting to get genuinely angry. "Tempest is my husband and this team is my only family! You'd better start learning a little self-control, young man, or that temper is going to get you nothing but trouble!"

Robin's anger boiled into rage. Without thinking about what he was doing, he did the first thing that entered his mind. Terra had no time to react before Robin's fist made contact with her face. The petite geomancer stumbled backward and tripped over a nearby chair and then remained motionless on the ground. Shouting something in Tamaranian, Robin stormed out of the great room, easily slamming the heavy wooden doors.

Several floors down, Hummingbird and Ryand'r were just completing their search of the dungeons and with that, their assigned part of the palace. They heard the reverberation of the great room door being slammed and looked at each other with concern.

"My communicator shows that all except team three is back here at the palace. We're done here and I'm beat. Whatever that sound was, it wasn't good. Let's go," Hummingbird said. When they reached the great room, there was still a light burning but Ryand'r spotted a shadow of someone disappearing down the long corridor.

"We'll deal with him later. If that's who I think it is, I'll need to deal with it myself. Come on," Hummingbird said, proceeding into the room. When she saw Terra on the floor across the room she rushed over and knelt next to her.

"Who has done this, Olivia?" Ryand'r demanded.

"…hits like a t'n 'f bricks…dn't see him comin'…" Terra mumbled incoherently.

"Take it easy, Auntie Terra. We're here now. I'm going to take care of this right now," Hummingbird growled.

"Be careful, Livie," Terra said, sitting up with Ryand'r's help.

"Prince Ryand'r, can you make sure she gets to her room? If you need to, you could wake up my brother Toby or my mom. They could heal her face for her. I'm going after Robin," Hummingbird said.

"Let someone go with you, Olivia," Ryand'r advised.

"No. Jason's my responsibility and I'll deal with him," Hummingbird insisted. She left the room without shutting the door and Ryand'r and Terra looked at each other in concern. This night would not end well. Not well at all.


	14. Almost Out of the Woods

Chapter 14: Almost out of the Woods

Arsenal and Torque walked softly into Erin's bedroom and gingerly sat down on the edge of her bed. Erin noticed the change in pressure and opened her eyes.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Erin mumbled, sitting up and leaning into their arms.

"We just wanted you to know that mommy and daddy are back and we're safe. Go back to sleep, sweet one," Torque said, tucking Erin back beneath the covers and kissing her forehead. Arsenal in turn bent over his daughter and applied a kiss of his own.

"We love you, Erin," Arsenal whispered. "Daddy and mommy love you very much."

With this, the Harpers left Erin's room and softly shut the door behind them. With this, Arsenal pressed a kiss to his wife's shoulder as he followed her into their room.

"Do you want a shower before bed?" he asked.

"No," Torque pouted playfully. "I want to take you to bed with me as sweaty and dirty as you are." Arsenal peeled off the top half of his uniform and closed the space between them.

"Dirty like this? Naughty girl—we'd mess up this nice bed that we've been given to sleep in." Arsenal softly scolded. Torque looked at him and pouted a little more as she leaned into his arms. "You know what happens to naughty girls, don't you?"

"Please don't!" she whimpered. Arsenal smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. She gave him every indication that she wanted precisely the opposite. "I'll be a good girl again, I promise."

"Over my lap, you little vixen," Arsenal replied. He waited with a seductive smile as she arranged herself over his knee and waited for her 'punishment'. She and Arsenal played this game often. She couldn't put her finger on the exact 'why' of it, but she got a charge out of letting Arsenal spank her once in a while. Arsenal had objected to this at first, insisting that he didn't want to accidentally injure her, but she assured him that with practice and proper positioning, injury was rare. When Arsenal discovered that the benefits were not just on her end, he agreed to make this a more frequent event if she wanted it to be so. Thus, tonight found Torque over her husband's knees and loving every stinging swat. That is…until there was a loud bang at their door.

"What the hell is that?" Torque gasped. Arsenal eased her off his lap and went to the door. Once again there was a loud bang and this time he figured it out—their six year old was on the other side of the door, bow in hand and shedding the angriest tears he had ever seen. She had kicked the door as hard as she could to get their attention.

"Erin, what's going on?" Arsenal asked angrily. Erin pointed the bow at him and Arsenal backed up.

"I…won't…let you…hurt…mommy…anymore!" Erin sobbed. Arsenal almost lost his footing. He reached for the edge of the bed and sat down as Torque tied her robe and tried to console Erin.

"Baby, daddy's not hurting me, I promise. Daddy and I were playing a game, sweetie," Torque explained.

"No!" Erin screeched. "I heard him hitting you!"

"Is that what this is about? You heard us the night before we left, didn't you? Is that why you've been avoiding me? You think I'm abusing mommy?" Arsenal rationalized in exasperation.

"I know you are!" Erin cried. Poor Arsenal was so stunned he didn't have the heart to tell his daughter that her arrows wouldn't do much in terms of actual damage.

"Come here, baby girl," Torque said gently. Erin kept her father in sight and backed over to her mother. Once Torque convinced her to put down her bow; convinced her that mommy and daddy really could explain, Erin decided to listen.

Half an hour later, Arsenal carried his little girl back to her bed and tucked her in. This done, he hung her bow and quiver over the bedpost and knelt beside the bed.

"I'm sorry, daddy," Erin whispered. Arsenal felt his heart break.

"For what, honey?" Arsenal asked.

"I almost attacked you and you weren't hurting mommy at all," Erin replied.

"You did what you thought you had to do to keep your mother safe. You didn't do anything wrong, honey. As a matter of fact, I'm very proud of you. You were a real hero today, Erin," Arsenal said, stroking Erin's downy soft hair. "What do you say? Am I forgiven?" Erin yawned and nodded, burying her face beneath her covers and against her teddy bear. Arsenal whispered, "Sweet dreams, baby girl." And once again shut Erin's door.

"Robin!" Hummingbird cried as she took off running down the dimly lit corridor. "Robin, stop! That's an order!" Robin halted and turned, startled by the voice that seemed to be calling his name. When he saw Hummingbird coming, he started back the way he came and threw his arms around her, holding her close so that he could bury his face in her hair.

"I was so worried about you!" Robin murmured, squeezing Hummingbird tight.

"I'm worried about you!" Hummingbird replied. "What happened to you? Ryand'r and I came back to the great room to find Auntie Terra on the floor!" Robin made a very ashamed, contrite face.

"I don't know!" he replied. "I was so angry about Rosie and then you and my dad were out there still and I was worried and I wasn't listening to Auntie Terra. I didn't want to listen to what she was saying. She was right, Livie, and I—I hit her…"

"Come in here," Hummingbird said, pulling Robin into an empty bedroom. She led him over to the bed and then sat down in the middle of it, crossing her legs and indicating for him to do the same. "Now, start at the beginning and tell me everything." Robin took a deep breath and began to recall what had happened. He told her about coming back empty handed and making Beast Boy cry. He told her about the other families coming back together and going to bed and how terrible it made him feel. He told her how Auntie Terra was only trying to help him and that he had done precisely what she told him would happen—his temper got away from him and got him in trouble. By the time he finished, he was bent over with his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees. Tears were falling from his cheeks and nose and Hummingbird had her arms around him, comforting him and telling him it would be all right.

"How? Auntie Terra will never talk to me again…she doesn't have a reason to," Robin muttered miserably.

"I'll go with you. We're a team and we'll work through this like a team, okay?" Hummingbird replied. Robin nodded. "Now, let's go get a bag of ice, and see if she's still up," Hummingbird added.

When the youngsters arrived in the great room again, Ryand'r had gone to bed, but Terra was still sitting near the fire, occasionally fingering the massive bruise on her face. She refused to let Ryand'r wake anyone up on her account. When Hummingbird and Robin walked into the room, Terra flinched almost imperceptibly.

"Auntie Terra? Can we come in and sit with you? Robin has something important to say to you," Hummingbird said, gently pushing Robin's shoulder toward the empty chair. By the end of the conversation, Robin was on his knees in front of his much-loved aunt and Terra leaned forward to envelope him in her warmest embrace. Hummingbird sat watching this and let tears of relief and joy spill over her cheeks. Robin gingerly offered the ice to Terra and she was still smiling when Hummingbird stood up to leave them alone. Hummingbird stepped out into the corridor and felt someone watching her.

"Mamma?"

"I never could hide from you, Olivia."

Raven's voice loved her daughter's name. She stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of her eldest daughter. There was a smile that Hummingbird could not place on her mother's face, and a tear glistened in the light of the torches on the walls.

"What's wrong, Mamma?" Hummingbird said.

"As a Titan, I've been through an awful lot. The toughest part of being a leader of a team is knowing that if someone makes a mistake, you have to reprimand a friend. It takes immense courage to stand up to your enemies, honey. It takes even more to patch up a situation like the one you handled tonight. You were brilliant—and I am very, very proud of you," Raven said softly. Hummingbird wiped her tears away.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"What are you going to do to follow up, now that the situation's been defused?" Raven asked.

"I don't have a choice—I have to suspend him from the investigation," Hummingbird said, clearing her throat.

"Sounds good. You're taking him out of the situation that caused the problem but you're not kicking him off the team or suspending him completely. But you know Jason better than to think he'll sit on the sidelines," Raven reminded her.

"I know. I've already thought of that. I'll ask him in the morning if he will stay here at the palace and protect his mother. He'll like that," Hummingbird said. Raven nodded and patted Hummingbird's back.

"Good job, honey. I'll go and fix up Terra's face for her and then I'm going to have to get back to bed before your father and brothers find out I'm gone. Coming?" Raven asked.

"Yes. I'm going to go take a quick shower though," Hummingbird answered. With this, she watched her mother enter the great room before she went down the other way to the Logans' suite.

Rumble ran into the clearing near the lake, the light of all three moons showering silvery light over the scene. There was what appeared to be a woman's body lying near the shore of the lake. As Rumble got closer, he noticed that her skin was wet and her long black hair was a tangled mess. Her rolled the body over and gasped in shock, "It's Blackfire!"

When Nightwing and Tempest arrived seconds later, the team worked quickly to restore her breathing and bandage the gash in her side. Blackfire cried out in pain as they worked but remained as still as she could.

"You don't happen to have a blanket in that utility belt, do you Uncle Nightwing? Her lips are turning blue from the cold," Rumble asked. Nightwing fought to suppress a grin and lost. Carefully, he extracted a long cape from a thick compartment in his belt.

"It's not a blanket, but it'll keep her warm and keep her from going into shock," Nightwing said. Tempest chuckled.

"And we called Roy 'Arsenal'!" he laughed. Blackfire tried to speak but it only came out as a whisper. Rumble leaned over to hear her better and then reported what he'd heard.

"She said that Calypso attacked her and turned her own militia against her. That's how she got hurt. She said she didn't know that Calypso could possess men's minds like she does. She made Blackfire believe that the plan was her own idea so that she could get here to get to us," Rumble replied.

"All my life," Blackfire said hoarsely. "I've been waging a war against an enemy I couldn't even see. Calypso told me about the civil war on Tamaran the year I was born. It was kept a secret from me all my life, so when I was passed up for the throne, I was made to believe that it was because I was born unable to fly. I believed that it was because my family didn't care. I convinced myself that I didn't care either, that is, until tonight when Calypso chained me up and blindfolded me. I heard Rosemary start to scream for Calypso to leave her alone and I fought so hard to get free…I really wanted to help her…" The dark princess broke down, crying in shaking, nearly-silent sobs of misery. Nightwing, who had up to now been supporting her so that she could sit up, suddenly dropped her and took several angry steps away from her.

"Uncle Nightwing? What's wrong?" Rumble called, running over to him.

"Go back over to them, Aidan. I don't want anyone near me right now," Nightwing growled.

"She said she tried to help Rosemary," Rumble offered.

"Not enough," Nightwing replied harshly.

"Not enough? She was beaten, tied up and blindfolded. How much could you have done?" Rumble cried.

"Stay out of this, Aidan," Nightwing growled. Rumble held his ground.

"No! Rosemary is my friend and my teammate. Calypso is our villain. You heard Blackfire—she wanted to help! Make her help us find Rosemary!" Rumble yelled. Tempest and Blackfire watched with rapt attention to see what Nightwing's reaction would be. When he didn't respond, Rumble went in for the kill:

"Didn't Batman teach you anything? Everyone deserves a second chance! Everyone deserves the chance to be forgiven! Everyone!"

Nightwing took a breath as he considered what Rumble said. His fists were still clenched tightly at his sides and his teeth were grinding so hard it was beginning to cause pain. He felt that Rumble was naïve…but the little guy had a point.

"I'll do it," Blackfire said, her voice gaining some strength. "I'll give you whatever you need to rescue Rosemary." Rumble looked from her to Nightwing and back. Slowly, Nightwing's stance relaxed. He turned and looked at his sister-in-law, sitting almost helpless on the cold, hard ground and something in him softened. Nightwing returned to Blackfire, knelt, and swept her up into his arms, carrying her back to the palace himself. It would be nearly three in the morning before Blackfire was settled into a bed in a large spare bedroom.

When Nightwing carefully slid into bed beside Starfire, she rolled over languidly and smiled. Sighing contently, she wrapped her arms around her husband and opened her vivid green eyes. She whispered to him that her parents had been recovered from the mines alive and in his relief Nightwing pulled his bride against him and hugged her. Nightwing kissed the top of Starfire's head and easily fell asleep, finally sure that the mission to rescue Rosemary would be a success.

Rumble had been told to go to bed not once, but twice. Still, the determined youngster tiptoed back out of the suite and down the corridor to the bedroom where he and Nightwing had deposited Blackfire. He added another blanket to her bed carefully and then realized that she was crying.

"What's wrong?" Rumble asked, crawling up onto the bed and sitting cross-legged beside her.

"I didn't tell them…I broke my wrist struggling. I…I had to set it…" she said, trying hard not to sob again. Rumble took two short splints and more gauze bandage from the large first aid kit that Tempest and Nightwing had used to dress the wound on her side.

"I broke my wrist once," Rumble babbled. "I was eight and Jason was showing me how to use the monkey bars. I should have known better—being an acrobat runs in his family, not mine. I fell, and I heard this nasty cracking noise and I passed out from the pain." Blackfire found herself smiling softly as Rumble splinted and wrapped her wrist. She murmured 'thank you' as he climbed back up onto the bed and resumed his place beside her.

"Why aren't you in bed? You must be dead on your feet," Blackfire asked.

"Funny thing about me: I have a hard time sleeping during extended missions like this. Drives my teammates nuts. I can go and go and they're ready to drop," Rumble replied. Blackfire laughed a little and then winced in pain. Rumble softly apologized.

"So, what do you want to know? You're obviously here because you want to know something," Blackfire asked.

"I want to know why you hate your family. Your birthday landed at the beginning of a war—so what? You were a little baby. How could it have been your fault?" Rumble asked.

"There's more to it than that, Rumble," she mumbled.

"Try me," Rumble said flatly.

"The toughest thing for anyone to hear is that your entire life has been wasted trying to revenge yourself on people you thought caused your problems and then being forced to face it when it dawns on you that you've been the problem all along. Rumble, I was willing to kill my family because I believed that they didn't care about me. I was willing to kill my sister and her family because I was passed up for the crown. I was too different—I wasn't born able to fly. I was so jealous I couldn't see straight. Starfire has no reason to ever accept me again. All she ever tried to do was love me and all I did was constantly put her in danger. Now I can never go back—I can't even show my face here again," Blackfire babbled. Rumble narrowed his sharp blue eyes.

"If I've learned anything from being part of a family of superheroes, I've learned two things: There's no such thing as 'can't go back' and there's always room for one more in a family," Rumble said firmly. Rumble reached forward and took hold of Blackfire's good hand and held it while she cried again.

Hours later, when the sunlight was streaming in on the bed and both Rumble and Blackfire were sound asleep, Tempest poked his head into the room and looked around. When he saw Rumble, a smile lit his face. He turned and beckoned and seconds later, Torque and Arsenal quietly peeked inside. Torque softly gasped and started to cry, clutching Arsenal's arm as he wound it around her shoulders. The three watched for a while as Rumble did one of the first truly noble things in his superhero career. He redeemed the repentant soul of a woman who was sure her life was over.

When everyone was up and about, Nightwing and Hummingbird called a meeting to discuss the findings of the search teams, and to prepare the next phase of the mission. King Myand'r and Queen Luand'r joined the team in the throne room, wanting very much to listen and be apprized of the current state of the mission. Hummingbird looked around the room and noted that a member of her team was missing.

"Where's Rumble?" she asked to no one in particular.

"He had to go pick up a friend," said Arsenal with a grin.

"I don't know if I can do this," Blackfire mumbled as Rumble helped her secure her armor.

"Of course you can. You've gotta be positive," Rumble said, carefully lacing up the side on which Blackfire had been wounded. He purposefully left it a little looser than it should have been so that it wouldn't pinch.

"I've never been able to admit this before, but…I'm scared, Rumble," Blackfire said. Rumble finished the lacing and stood in front of her.

"You don't have to be scared…" he reminded her. "And call me Aidan." Blackfire smiled.

"I like that name," she said, resting a hand on his shoulder. He carefully hugged her and then spoke again, "My mom taught me this little two line prayer that she says before a really tough mission. I've been using it, too. Wanna hear it?" Blackfire nodded.

"Mom always told me to say, 'Uphold me oh Lord according to your promise. Do not disappoint me in my hope," Rumble recited. Blackfire felt tears again.

"Uphold me, X'hal according to your promise. Do not disappoint me in my hope," Blackfire repeated, substituting the name of her goddess for Aidan's God.

"See? It's universal. C'mon. The others will be looking for us soon," Rumble said.

As if on cue, the door swung open and Rumble walked into the room, carefully guiding Blackfire, his friend. The royal family and many of the Titans were at once on their feet in surprise. They remained this way as Rumble walked with the fallen princess all the way to the foot of the thrones and then helped her to kneel. Blackfire bowed her head and didn't look up at her family.

"What is the meaning of this?" Myand'r demanded in a voice just hovering above a growl.

"Your majesties, I beg that you will give me leave to speak," Blackfire replied.

"You have betrayed this family," Myand'r said, his eyes, hard and cold as a mountain forest.

"I know, my Lord. It is this issue I have come to address," Blackfire responded.

"…Very well," he muttered.

"I thank you, my Lord. I know that I have spent my life in rebellion against that which I believed to be the cause of my own selfish discomfort. I harbored misconceived ideas about my life's history and mistakenly believed that I had been slighted. As your oldest child, I felt that it should have been I who ascended your throne, not my sister. It is within my understanding now that it was only my conceit that kept me from the truth," Blackfire said evenly. Only Rumble knew that she was shaking as she spoke.

"What is it you have learned, in this rebellion? Have you learned anything at all?" Starfire asked. Blackfire finally looked up at her family. They were an imposing group indeed. Beside Starfire, on her right, stood Nightwing, and on her left was Robin. Myand'r and Luand'r were directly before her, with Ryand'r, her brother, on their left.

"Yesterday I discovered something about myself. When Calypso blindfolded me and caused my niece to scream, I struggled to free myself. Not to escape--but to rescue her. Something inside me desperately needed to make sure that she was safe. I discovered in that instant that even as far and as fast I had run from my family that love and loyalty are ties that even space has not the power to break. My rebellion has alienated me from my family and I know that for this sedition I deserve to die. I understand that you may never accept or trust me again. That is what I will have to live with as recompense for my choices," Blackfire resolved, her voice becoming stronger the more she spoke. "But, hear me now: my mistake has put Rosemary, my innocent niece, in danger and if it is the last thing I do, I will set this right. A brilliant young man taught me last night that the strongest thing in his life is the love of the family of heroes that raised him. I ask you for nothing today except the chance to win back just a little of that love…of that family."

Stunned into silence, a pin could have been heard hitting the ground as Rumble helped Blackfire to her feet. Blackfire was clearly biting back tears and she looked at her family. Starfire could only stare, but it was her father's look that pierced the hardest. He averted his eyes, looking down at the floor. She had had a sneaking suspicion that the interview between she and her family would not go well. With this confirmed, she gestured for Rumble to help her back to her room.

"Komand'r."

Blackfire froze at the sound of her Tamaranian name. Her heart thudded in her chest as she turned to see her father coming toward her. He stopped before her and she nearly buckled beneath the scrutiny of his eyes.

"Whatever you have been…your path has led you back to what is good and right. A warrior's path is a long and jagged one and you more than your sister and brother have discovered this path. You have returned prepared to take responsibility for your actions—something that even some of my most valiant men cannot bring themselves to do and this is what signifies true nobility. It is not a birthright. It is defined by a person's actions," Myand'r declared. Blackfire stood a little straighter. She definitely had not anticipated this.

"In addition to this: I wish to say that your young friend is wise beyond his years. He is correct. The family is the strongest and most sacred connection we will ever encounter. With this in mind…I want you to know something…" Myand'r added. He lifted Blackfire's chin to make her meet his eyes.

"You were always…in my heart…my dear golden girl…my daughter… and I have always loved you."

Blackfire started to cry and wilted into her father's arms, where she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed as he held her closely. Unable to resist anymore, the rest of the royal family joined them, each member taking his or her turn embracing their lost sister.

Hummingbird stood up several minutes later, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Well, how am I supposed to follow an act like that?" she cried. The laughter from those present was all Hummingbird needed to keep going.

"Let's get down to it—we need to bring Rosemary home!" she cried over the cheering of her teammates.


	15. Final Resolution

Chapter 15: Final Resolution

When little Rosefire opened her eyes, she was so cold that her muscles simply refused to move. Hunger made her weak and dizzy, but it was being all alone in the dark, cold stone room that upset her the most. Calypso had taken the green sweater that she had been wearing at the time of her kidnapping, and now, a day later, she shivered without it. A tear slid down from her pale blue eyes, over her cheek and onto the floor. Calypso had unexpectedly popped Rosefire's shoulder back into place during a struggle, and as a result, the little one's voice was hoarse from crying and screaming.

"I want my daddy," Rosefire wept.

Far away, Hummingbird's eyes popped open. She struggled to stand and shivered as Thetis rested a hand on her arm.

"What's wrong, Livie?" asked Thetis. The other Titans were all busily dividing themselves into three teams for this final assault.

"I felt her…Rosie's alive,' Hummingbird announced as she shuddered violently for a moment. Nightwing heard his daughter's name and turned around.

"Is she hurt?" he demanded.

"Is she frightened?" Starfire cried.

"Both," Hummingbird said gently. The team reacted in shock and Starfire crumpled into Nightwing's arms.

"Let's just get going! The longer we stand here the worse it'll get!" Catalyst cried.

"Toby's right. Let's go!" Changeling added.

"Blackfire, can you take team one and lead them to Rosie?" Hummingbird said.

"Count on it," Blackfire replied with a look of sheer determination.

"Uncle Cyborg, I want you to take team two and assist General Hesperos on the front lines," Hummingbird continued.

"Copy that, captain," Cyborg teased. Hummingbird smiled shyly for a moment and then looked at them again.

"I'll take team three and we'll go after Calypso," Hummingbird finished.

"What about the royal family? Who's gonna protect them?" asked Rumble.

"I assure you, Master Rumble, they will be safe with me," Galfore replied.

"And me," said Robin.

"Sounds good. You have your orders," Hummingbird said, glancing at the smile on Nightwing's face. He nodded. She could say it this time.

"TITANS! GO!"

* * *

Blackfire led team one down through the twisting passages of the palace, the atmosphere getting darker and cooler as they went.

"Rosie is all the way down here?" Thetis asked.

"No," said Blackfire. "We're taking the private escape route out of the palace. There's a bunker not far here where the royal family is hidden in times of attack. That's where Calypso and I were hiding when we arrived."

"Proteus, can you give us more light?" Blackfire asked. Proteus turned on the flashlight on his shoulder-mounted flashlight and they proceeded. Little Faith blinked as she emerged from the tunnels with the rest of the team and then pointed across the clearing.

"Is that it?" she asked.

"I don't know, guys, I'm not feeling any life readings from that bunker and Olivia already said that Rosie's alive," Catalyst said.

"We'll just have to look," said Nightwing. "Calypso could be shielding it."

* * *

"Ready for action!" Cyborg cried, arriving at General Hesperos' side.

"Good. We will need the assistance. Calypso's army had grown to include insurgents from our own armies and she has recruited others as well," Hesperos reported. Sure enough, as they looked out over the palace walls, legions of troops were marching toward the palace.

"Oh my God…" Torque gasped softly.

"Wow…" Rumble added.

"Are you sure the kids should be here, honey?" Jinx said.

"We could always leave Erin here to work as a sniper," Changeling suggested.

"That's too dangerous," Torque said.

"So is her aim," Arsenal added.

"I don't know about this," Torque said.

"Daddy, what's a sniper?" Erin asked.

"A sniper is a special kind of soldier who can shoot really well and really accurately," Arsenal explained.

"Do arrows count?" Erin asked.

"They sure do, baby," he said.

"I can do that," Erin said confidently.

"That's daddy's girl," Arsenal said, sweeping her up into a big hug.

"All right, team. If we're going to be on the frontlines of this, we need to get a move on," Cyborg called. The adults made a move to descend the stairs and Rumble stayed behind for a moment to say goodbye to his little sister.

"Well, good luck little Hawkeye," Rumble said, giving her a hug.

"What's a hawk-eye?" Erin said.

"It's someone who has sharp eyes and can hit a target," Rumble said, kneeling to get down to her height.

"I like that name," Erin nodded happily. General Hesperos smiled at them.

"Then that is what we shall call you, little warrior. Rumble, you must go now if you are to keep up with your parents," Hesperos reminded him. Rumble obeyed and vanished down the stairs. Hesperos brought a wooden box and placed it in front of him near the wall overlooking the encroaching armies. Erin took the initiative and stepped up on top of it.

"Purely out of curiosity, little Hawkeye, how well can you shoot?" Hesperos asked. Erin looked out over the landscape for a target. Hesperos looked around and spotted a bush near the palace. He pointed to it and Erin took aim and released, sending her arrow easily into the bush.

"Good," Hesperos said. "Now, do you see that fence post a bit farther out?" Erin squinted and aimed. This, too, hit the mark. Down below, Arsenal jumped when an arrow whizzed over his head.

"Hawkeye's warming up, I guess," Rumble grinned.

"Hawkeye?" Torque asked.

"Yeah—that's what Erin and I just decided her codename is," Rumble replied with a grin. Jinx giggled as Arsenal shook off a chill.

"She's better than I thought," Changling mumbled, impressed.

"Well done, Hawkeye," Hesperos said, patting the little one on the back. "When the opposing army begins to aim at us, remember to duck down behind the wall. Here. You will need these. Be very careful with them as they are very real and very sharp." Hesperos placed a bulging handful of arrows into Hawkeye's quiver and then handed her one to look at.

"Wow…if I shoot that tree out there—will this one stick in it?" Hawkeye asked in wonder.

"Absolutely. Give it a go," Hesperos encouraged her.

_Thunk! _

Erin Harper squealed in delight as the arrow hit its mark.

"Thank you, General," Hawkeye cooed. "Mommy and daddy didn't think I was old enough for real arrows yet."

"Today, sweet girl, you will need them," Hesperos said seriously. "Do you see all of those soldiers out there?" Hawkeye nodded. "All of those people are under Calypso's control."

"Bad guys?" Hawkeye inferred.

"Yes, little one. Very bad guys. When I tell you, I want you to choose one of them in the front row and shoot one of your arrows at him," Hesperos said. Hawkeye was suddenly shocked.

"Won't I hurt him?" she cried.

"Hopefully," Hesperos said.

"But….I…" her little mind fought with the idea of deliberately hurting someone. Hesperos knelt and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Erin, those men out there are not like the men in fairy tale books. These men will kill you and your family if you do not shoot at them," he said gravely. Tears welled in Hawkeye's eyes.

"They will?" she whispered.

"Yes, child, they will," he said. He could tell that he was only scaring her, but it took him another second to think up a way to help her get over her fear.

"Empress Starfire tells me that on Earth they have a thing called 'video games'. Pretend that this is a game, Erin. See if you can knock down more of the 'bad guys' than your brother, perhaps," Hesperos urged. Hawkeye seemed to process this.

"…Just a game…" Hawkeye replied. Hesperos nodded. He knew that if Erin was watching to see how many men Rumble knocked out, that she would be watching to make sure she knew where her teammates were and would also take the shot when she must.

Hawkeye turned and looked at the oncoming army. "When do I shoot?" she asked, gritting her teeth. Hesperos watched Cyborg give the order for the ground crew to advance and then gave Hawkeye the only order she needed, "Now!"

On the ground, Cyborg watched his teammates plow into the battle with the rest of the Tamaranian army and occasionally had to stop short and switch targets as the Tamaranian archers joined little Hawkeye on the battlements of the castle and opened fire.

"Go get 'em, Hawkeye!" Rumble screamed as he watched another villain hit the ground.

* * *

Hummingbird knew that Calypso would most likely be accompanied by a private entourage of soldiers so she was glad to have the extra firepower of Tempest, Terra, and Raven with her on team three. Her other three teammates consisted of her little brother Beast Boy, and Tempest and Terra's kids, Cerdian and Coral. Terra had been reluctant to let her children accompany the rest of the team, but Hummingbird had had a hunch that the littlest Titans might give their older comrades an edge. Hummingbird led the team to a clearing in the forest where Catalyst had found evidence of a ship but no ship—this time, there was a ship.

* * *

Calypso was pacing the length of the bridge of her ship. Her teeth were clenched and she watched as her armies struggled to approach the castle. The elder Titans were putting up a better fight than she expected. She was going to have to do something about them herself. When Calypso descended the ladder leading out of the ship, she was met by seven of the aforementioned battle-ready heroes.

"Hold it right there, Calypso!" Hummingbird cried. Calypso sent her guards after the Titans and quickly, Raven slipped away from the group and confronted the villainess herself. Startled, Calypso threw a punch and Raven easily avoided it. Raven returned the punch and Calypso caught her fist in her hand.

"Your son…Caleb is it?...absolutely adorable…" Calypso teased.

"Stay away from my children," Raven growled, repelling Calypso with her powers. Calypso recovered quickly and came back at Raven even harder. While all this was happening, Cerdian and Coral were having a ball distracting the villains so that their parents could strike more effective attacks against them. One picked Coral up off the ground and she kicked and squealed. Terra gasped and turned around just in time for Coral to turn the same color as the uniform of her attacker and very nearly vanish against him. Confused, the henchman lost his grip and Coral landed on her feet and ran as her mother hurled a boulder in their direction, easily incapacitating two guards.

While Cerdian was less than half his father's size, he was no less effective. Cerdian was capable of gushing enough water to disorient and distract just about any creature. Once the guards had been splashed by Cerdian, Tempest could move in and incur the force of a tidal wave.

Only five minutes had passed since the onset of the battle, and Calypso couldn't seem to get the edge she needed over Raven. While ducking Raven's next blow, Calypso pulled a knife from her boot and plunged it into Raven's gut. She pulled it out again and spit on Raven's spotless white cloak before vanishing into the surrounding woods. Beast Boy had crushed a guard just in time to look over and see his mother, her eyes wide with horror, stumble backward and fall on her back on the ground.

"Mamma!" he screamed. He ran to her and dropped to his knees, shaking in fear. Her eyes were now only half open and she winced as she breathed.

"Mamma! Mamma, you're hurt!" Beast Boy cried. He wasn't sure he could take looking at all that blood for too much longer.

"Mamma's going to be okay, baby, but I'll need your help," Raven said weakly. Beast Boy nodded. "I need you to protect me…give me time to heal myself…" Raven added.

"I don't know if I can!" Beast Boy wept.

"Yes you can…you're doing great! You have to protect me, Caleb…I won't make it if you don't…" Raven replied.

"Mamma, no! I don't want you to die!" Beast Boy sobbed.

"Then do as I say," Raven gasped. Beast Boy turned and took a deep breath before transforming into a grizzly bear and obediently defending his mother. When all of Calypso's guards had been defeated, the team turned one way and then the other—Calypso was gone! When Hummingbird saw her brother kneeling near their mother with his head over her, he was sobbing. Raven's white uniform was blood-soaked and she wasn't moving.

"No!" screeched Hummingbird. She nearly lost her concentration and fell from the skies. She flew to Caleb's side and fell to her knees. She was having a hard time seeing through the tears in her eyes, but her mind was racing through what she could do to help. Seconds later, Raven gasped for air and coughed back to life, opening her eyes for her friends.

"Mamma!" Beast Boy cried, hugging her.

"I told you…" Raven said, smiling weakly up at Tempest and Terra. "All I needed was time."

* * *

Blackfire used her starbolts to burn the lock off the door of the bunker, which was partially hidden by the brush in the forest. Cautiously, she led them down a flight of stairs that led to three doors; one on either side and one directly in front of them. Blackfire paused in confusion.

"What's wrong?" asked little Faith, edging her way to the front.

"There were only two doors here before…" Blackfire said critically. Catalyst cautiously opened the door on their left and Proteus opened the right. The room on the left was dusty and dimly lit, and the other more recently used, but both were devoid of life.

"I'm getting a reading on the other side of the third door, but it's faint," Catalyst said.

"Could someone have built this passage way in a day?" Thetis asked.

"Emily's right. It'd be near impossible," said Faith.

"Yet….here it is…" Catalyst said. Nightwing ordered the younger Titans to stay put and opened the third door. Blackfire went with him down the cold, narrow stairs leading even further underground.

"She's used a terra-former down here," Blackfire said. "These walls are too perfect to have been dug by hand. It's like the land was re-arranged."

"Are you sure you don't remember this passage?" Nightwing asked.

"She was in the room on the right before. The kids are probably finding that out now," Blackfire said.

"You're right. Their first instinct is investigation," Nightwing said. "I hope the rest of the royal family is sitting tight back at the palace. What do you suppose will happen after all of this is over?" Speaking to her this way still didn't make sense to Nightwing. He had spent the past 20 years considering her a malicious enemy.

"I know you don't trust me yet, Nightwing, but I hope that they will at the very least, allow me to live here on Tamaran," Blackfire said. Nightwing turned to her and took her shoulders in his massive hands.

"You are my wife's sister. If she trusts you then I…will try harder to," he said. "What's in the past is already done, but you're showing us now that you're working hard to change that." Blackfire was pleased with this, and smiled in the consuming darkness. When they reached the bottom, there was a crude cellar door. Nightwing indicated that Blackfire should be quiet and he listened at the door. There was a young-sounding cough on the other side and a sniffle. Blackfire put her hand over Nightwing's, keeping him from trying to rip the lock off with his bare hands. She used a starbolt charged hand to turn the metal latch on the door to a molten puddle on the floor and Nightwing's heart beat harder as he pulled the door open and his prayers were answered—he found his missing little girl.

"Rosemary?" Nightwing said, kneeling next to her. "Rosemary, wake up, sweetheart." He lifted her into his arms and swept her hair out of her face. She only very faintly responded by opening her eyes and whispering, "Daddy?" Nightwing felt tears stinging at the corners of his eyes.

"Let's go. We can wrap her in one of the blankets from the other room," Blackfire said. Nightwing led the way back up to the other rooms and discovered that their assumption had been right: the kids were spread out in the room on the right, searching for clues.

"Rosemary!" Catalyst cried happily. He pulled a quilt off the bed in the room and went to help Nightwing wrap her up in it.

"I found Rosie's sweater!" Thetis said, offering it to Nightwing. He smiled as he took it and gently pulled it over his daughter's head and arms. Catalyst looked at Rosefire and gently took her arm in his hands.

"What is it, Toby?" asked Nightwing.

"Her shoulder. It looks as though it was popped out of its socket and back in again," he replied.

"Calypso had secured her with her hands behind her back at first, but when I defected, Rosemary's hands were in front of her…I'll bet she was trying to escape!" Blackfire said. Nightwing ducked his head and grinned. He waited for Catalyst to heal Rosemary's injury and then wrapped her in the quilt before picking her up again and kissing her head.

"That's my girl," Nightwing murmured. "Let's go, everyone. We are mission accomplished." The young Titans cheered and Catalyst led the way back up out of the bunker.

"Blackfire," Nightwing said as they reached the surface. "This is too easy."

"I know. Rosemary meant too much to Calypso for her to leave her unguarded. Something must have happened," Blackfire said.

"Team two is gonna need more help! Uncle Nightwing, you and Auntie Blackfire should go back to the palace and be with the rest of the royal family," Catalyst said. Nightwing was torn. He wanted to help defend the palace, but his eight year old was asleep in his arms. He couldn't find it even in his adventurous heart to deny his little girl her mother any longer.

"I'm coming with you," insisted Blackfire. "I know combat strategy like I wrote the book on it. I can help." Catalyst nodded and they both looked back at Nightwing.

"Be careful, Toby," Nightwing admonished. He nodded and shrugged Faith up onto his back. She giggled as Catalyst cried, "Look! There's team three! Titans, Go!"

* * *

Little Hawkeye ran, ponytail bobbing, from one side of the battlements to the other, pausing to squeeze between the archers and take a shot of her own and then move again. At one point she thought she heard familiar voices and ran to the far edge of the wall. She looked over and saw team one running to join them from one direction, and team three coming from the other. Then she spotted Nightwing and the bundle he was carrying as he hurried into the castle. She gasped and went running back across the stone battlements.

"General! General! They found her! They found Rosemary!" Hawkeye screeched. General Hesperos grinned widely and roared across the line of archers, "THE PRINCESS IS SAVED!" The archers exploded into jubilation and the sentiment spilled over the castle walls to the warriors below. Slowly, Calypso's men became distracted by the extra noise and the other Titans took this opportunity to infiltrate the scene and turn the tide of the battle. Changeling, even in his larger forms, was having a hard time fending off the warriors. Without warning, a wave of black energy swept a mass of them away from him and a bright green kangaroo bounced out of nowhere to take out three more. Whirling around, Changeling came face to face with his wife and youngest son.

"Raven!" he cried. "What happened?"

"Tell you later!" Raven replied, briefly kissing him before diving into the battle. The image of her blood-covered uniform stuck in Changeling's mind, but her kiss rejuvenated him, and he continued the fight anyway.

* * *

Nightwing entered the throne room briskly; startling the rest of the family perched at the thrones.

"Nightwing!" cried Ryand'r. Starfire looked up and spotted the bundle in his arms. The top of Rosemary's head peeked through the blanket, but she couldn't see her face.

"Our child! You've rescued our little girl!" Starfire cried, getting up to greet them.

"Is she okay?" Robin said, following his mother.

"She'll be okay. She managed to dislocate a shoulder trying to escape but Toby healed that up for her. She's just really tired and really hungry,"

"Where is my sister?" asked Ryand'r, looking around for Blackfire.

"She went with the others to the battlefront," Nightwing said, walking to the throne area and sitting down so that Starfire and Robin could sit beside him. As soon as he sat down, Myand'r sent a servant to fetch food and water for the young princess and Rosefire's whole family was watching when she opened her eyes.

"Daddy, where are we?" she mumbled.

"You're safe now, Rosemary. Just relax, baby girl," Nightwing said. She squinted a little and then smiled as her vision began to clear.

"Hi, Jason," she said softly. Robin wiped his tears with the backs of his hands and reached for his little sister. Carefully, Nightwing relinquished his hold and Robin wound his arms around her.

"I was so worried about you," he replied, hugging her tight. Starfire called for a bath to be run immediately in the nearby baths and then as soon as it was prepared, Starfire took her husband and children with her to the warm, humid, Romanesque baths. An hour later, the young nobles returned, warm, clean and renewed. After Rosefire had had her meal, she curled up in her grandfather's arms and fell asleep again as she listened to his voice reverberate in his chest. She had not been asleep long before another person burst into the throne room…

* * *

Hawkeye had given up trying to find an available shot. Reinforcements had arrived and the battlements were cramped with archers and this left no room for the little sniper. General Hesperos had instead given her the task of bringing more arrows for the archers as they ran low. This was a grand idea to Hawkeye, and she began running back and forth with armfuls of arrows, occasionally stopping and ducking as showers of arrows from the opposing side rained over them.

Down on the ground, the older Titans watched proudly as their children showed their fiercest battle maneuvers. Slowly…step by step…General Hesperos could finally tell that there was a definite change in the scene. He lifted a large horn from his belt and blew it hard. The sound it emitted vibrated in the stone of the castle and over the fields below, telling the Tamaranian forces that the battle was soon theirs.

"What's that noise?" Hummingbird screamed.

"We're winning!" Jinx cried.

Some of the groundlings of the opposing forces were starting to make unusual mistakes and Cyborg couldn't figure out what was making the ordinarily skillful soldiers mess up.

"Calypso! She's losing her grip on them!" Catalyst yelled.

"Whoo-hoo! Way to go, Titans!" Torque shouted. "Push 'em back!"

Back on the battlements, another hail storm of arrows pummeled the troops. Hawkeye was running with another large bundle of arrows and forgot to duck when the opposing army attacked. Realizing her mistake, she tried to run for cover but it was too late, three more Tamaranian archers fell, one over the castle walls and two others backwards onto the stone floor, and six year old Erin Harper dropped the arrows in her hands and started to scream. Tears rolled down her face and her complexion turned red from exertion. An arrow almost as long as she was tall had pierced her right forearm. The nearest archer dropped his bow and scooped her up and carried her to General Hesperos. Hesperos heard them coming and shouted for a medic. By the time the archer set Hawkeye on a stretcher under a protected alcove, she was screaming for her parents.

"You are a very lucky little girl!" the medic cried, doing his best to get her to hear him. "It missed the bone and the arrows you were carrying kept it from your torso!" The archer that had carried her remained beside her and held onto her other hand.

"Look at me!" he demanded. Hawkeye obediently did as she was told. "He needs to break off one side of the arrow and pull it out of your arm." Hawkeye nearly passed out.

"I want you to put your good arm around mine here and bury your face in my shoulder. You may squeeze as hard as you like and scream as hard as you like. Do you understand?" he ordered firmly. Hawkeye was sobbing, but she jerkily nodded. Following his instructions, the archer held Hawkeye tightly and the medic did his work quickly. Minutes later, Hawkeye was lying on her cot, and the archer was giving her some water out of his canteen.

"You were braver than five Tamaranian archers today, littlest one," he said, patting her good hand.

"Thank you," Hawkeye hoarsely replied, still swallowing her sobs. Her arm was heavily wrapped and the medic had created a sling for her and ordered her to stay there.

"I must return to the lines. Will you be all right?" he asked. Hawkeye nodded. Her rust colored hair had fallen from its ponytail and was strewn over the cot. He got up to leave and Hawkeye stopped him.

"Wait! What's your name?" Hawkeye asked.

"I am called Aodhfin. In your tongue, I believe I would be called 'Whitefire'," he replied.

"Thank you, Aodhfin," she said. Aodhfin smiled and then quickly returned to the front.

* * *

"No!"

"Stop! Please!"

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Hand her over!" Calypso demanded.

"Never!" Myand'r growled, holding Rosefire tighter.

The dilemma before them could not be more complicated. Calypso had surprised the royal family by seducing a guard with her powers. This guard ambushed Galfore, wounding him enough to keep him down while Calypso threatened something far more devastating.

"Jason," Calypso cooed, stroking his face. He was kneeling at her feet and staring up at her with ardent, glassy-eyed wonder. "Do you love me, Jason?"

"Stop this!" Starfire cried.

"Let him go, witch!" Ryand'r added.

"Yes, I do," Robin replied reverently.

"And would you do anything for me, Jason?" Calypso continued.

"Let my brother go!" Rosefire cried.

"Yes…anything…" Robin said. Tamaran's royal family watched in horror as Calypso handed the young prince a knife. She knelt to come to eye level with him.

"Would you die for me, Jason?" she whispered seductively.

"My son!" Starfire screamed.

"You can stop this, Nightwing," Calypso purred. "Hand over your precocious little girl and your son is free to go."

"But…I do not wish to be apart from you, mistress," Robin mumbled.

"I know, darling," Calypso murmured, stroking his hair.

"You can't have either of them Calypso," Nightwing growled.

"Jason?" Calypso said, standing up.

"Yes, my mistress?"

"When and only when I instruct you to do so, you will take that knife and plunge it into your chest," Calypso instructed him. The royal family was in an uproar. Rosefire thought she saw something moving outside the door of the throne room. What could it be? More of Calypso's reinforcements? The door opened and then closed, seemingly admitting no one, but Rosefire's keen eyes saw only a shimmering glimpse of an outline moving along the floor. Rosefire pulled away from her grandfather and ran a few steps out before her family.

"I'll go with you, Calypso. Let my brother go!" Rosefire cried. A sadistic smile crossed Calypso's face just seconds before she was knocked face-first onto the floor. As she screeched in surprise, the doors burst open and Hummingbird flew into the room with Cerdian and Beast Boy in tow. When Calypso fell to the floor, her hold on Robin and what was left of her armies was lifted. When he shook the dizziness from his mind, his eyes came into focus on a little girl with violently purple hair sitting square on Calypso's back while the royal guards secured her.

"Coral?"

"Brother calls me Chameleon!" she giggled.

"Jason! Are you okay?" Hummingbird cried, kneeling down in front of him. Robin looked at the knife and then back at Hummingbird.

"Boy, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," he murmured, leaning forward to kiss her. Before their lips could meet, Rosefire, Starfire and Nightwing were there and they pulled him to his feet, hugging him and making sure he was okay.

"Talk about just in the nick of time!" Nightwing said to Hummingbird as he patted her on the back.

"Mamma sent me inside with the little guys. Good thing we came in when we did!" Hummingbird said. She turned around and lifted Chameleon into her arms and swung her around.

"Coral, you were so GREAT!" Hummingbird squealed. Chameleon just giggled and hugged Hummingbird.

"Where are the others?" Starfire asked.

"The battle's over…we've won!" Hummingbird replied. "They should be coming in any minute now."

* * *

The weary but victorious Titans plodded up the steps of the forward tower and up to the battlements. The archers were still bundling their quivers and bows and limping away to the barracks when the Titans emerged onto the upper level. Aodhfin saw them and approached them with a smile.

"Where's Hawkeye? I would have thought she'd have seen us coming and come running," Rumble asked.

"I'm afraid our littlest archer sustained an injury during the battle," Aodhfin told them. Torque clutched Arsenal's arm and started to cry.

"Where's my sister?" Rumble demanded. Aodhfin put down his pack and led the Harpers to the makeshift infirmary where the last of the grown archers were being escorted downstairs to the hospital wing in the castle. Hawkeye had fallen asleep on her cot and awakened when she heard footsteps and voices.

"Erin!" Aidan cried, leaning down to put his arms around her. Arsenal and Torque almost pushed their teammates over to get to the front and hold her close.

"I'm okay, mommy," Hawkeye said as her mother cried.

"I knew this was too risky…I knew…"

"General Hesperos said I did really good mommy! And Aodhfin said I was braver than five Tamaranian archers!" Hawkeye argued.

"You were, baby," Arsenal said, patting Hawkeye's back. "You sure were. What happened?"

"She was carrying arrows for the other archers and an incoming arrow struck her in the arm. It's a good thing she was carrying them, too. If she had not, there's a good chance the arrow might have pierced her torso as well," Aodhfin explained.

"You must be Aodhfin," Rumble inferred.

"I am," he replied, shaking his hand.

"You've got to be joking," Jinx murmured.

"What's that?" Changeling asked.

"Their names," Raven added. "They're the same. Aodhfin is old Irish for Aidan."

"Well, all right," Cyborg grinned. Catalyst gently edged around his family and knelt down in front of Hawkeye.

"Would you like me to fix that for you?" he asked. Hawkeye smiled.

"Yes please," she replied.

* * *

By the time the other Titans returned to the throne room, Calypso had escaped her guards by vanishing in a wisp of smoke and promising that this was not the last that they would see of her. Sure that it wouldn't be but too happy to worry about it, the Titans cleaned up and rested for the remainder of the day. That evening would bring the grand feast and subsequent ball that they had come for in the first place. The Titans and their children were presented as highly honored guests and Crown Prince Jason and Crown Princess Rosemary were received by their people, but the event that all would remember for years to come was a surprise to everyone but one. Before the ball, King Myand'r rose from his seat and gestured for his family to do the same.

"Komand'r of Tamaran, rise and come to stand before me," Myand'r called. Swallowing hard, Blackfire stood and obeyed. When she arrived at her mark, Myand'r softly said, "Take a knee." Blackfire gracefully knelt before her father and bowed her head.

"You have been charged with the high crimes of treason, espionage, obstruction of justice, desertion, and various other crimes. One or two of these would be enough to convict you and a sentence of death would be certain," Myand'r announced. Tears poured from Blackfire's eyes. Had she not been through enough? However, before she could bring herself to run from the room, he continued.

"However…in the past two days, the behavior I have observed and that which has been reported to me highly contradicts this. I have had reports of bravery, valor, conviction, leadership, and self-sacrifice. If I knew nothing else about it, these actions would be enough to exonerate you. Tonight, I wish to take that reprieve a step farther," Myand'r said. This time, Blackfire looked up in time to see Rumble, smiling in his handsome black tuxedo and carrying a crown on a deep purple pillow. He arrived at Myand'r's side and stopped, presenting the crown.

"As the former King of Tamaran, it is within my power to say these words, but only the currently ruling sovereign can perform the actions," Myand'r explained. Blackfire looked left and her sister, Starfire, took the crown from Aidan and held it up for all of their people to see.

"Let all here tonight bear witness to this that I do. I, Empress Koriand'r, hereby reinstate my sister, Komand'r, _Princess of Tamaran_," Starfire announced, setting the crown on her head. Stunned speechless, Blackfire slowly stood at her sister's command to rise and the room exploded into applause. The people of Tamaran and their guests danced long into the night, and somewhere near 1:30 in the morning, Robin took Hummingbird by the hand out to the balcony. Sitting down on the bench near the railing, Hummingbird took a deep breath of the fresh air.

"This is so great. Despite everything that's happened, I'm still glad we came," she said, smiling radiantly.

"I'm glad you came, Livie," Robin said softly. Hummingbird looked at him with tenderly affectionate eyes. She lightly stroked his face and he leaned into it for a moment before pulling it to his lips and kissing it.

"I have something for you, Livie," Robin said, fumbling a soft cloth bag out of his pocket. He produced a silver ring set with three diamonds and Hummingbird's jaw dropped.

"Jason…" she stammered.

"Hear me out," he said. "This belonged to my grandmother Luand'r. Grandfather gave it to her when he 'chose' her."

"Chose her?"

"Yeah…he had decided that he was in love with her, but they were too young to make it official—let alone public—so he gave her a ring to wear on the opposite hand it's supposed to be on, and then when they were ready to be engaged, she moved it over," Robin said, sliding the ring onto the third finger on Hummingbird's right hand.

"I want you to be my wife someday, Olivia. I love you…I…I choose you," Robin stuttered. Hummingbird said nothing but stood and he followed, but before he could say another word, Hummingbird wound her arms around his shoulders and kissed him like she had never kissed him before.

The two danced with no one else the rest of the night.

* * *

All of the Titans slept well that night, looking forward to the coming day. It was finally time to go home.

End of Episode I!!!


End file.
